The Panama-flagged car carrier AH SHIN on the sea of the southern coastal province of Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu on Sunday. — Photo courtesy of local authorities

VŨNG TÀU — The Maritime Administration of Vũng Tàu is coordinating to support a Panama-flagged car carrier which caught fire off the Vũng Tàu coast.

A fire started onboard AH SHIN on Saturday as the cargo vessel was en route from the Republic of Korea to Singapore, carrying 4,530 cars (both new and old), 1,356 tonnes of FO oil and 82 tonnes of DO oil, along with 21 Russian crew members.

The ship has used up 50 tonnes of CO2 in its firefighting system, but the fire is not yet under control. The vessel is adrift at a slow speed, some 25 nautical miles southeast of Vũng Tàu.

The vessel’s owner has asked Việt Nam to provide more CO2 to control the fire.

The maritime administration contacted the ship’s captain on Sunday afternoon to discuss firefighting measures. It had a working session with other competent agencies earlier the same day over the issue.

As of Monday afternoon, there is no more smoke coming from the ship and 21 crewmembers remain safe, Vũng Tàu port authorities said following contacts made with the ship. — VNS