OSV Catches Fire off Mumbai

zoom Twenty-nine crew members from an offshore supply vessel were evacuated, with five remaining on board to fight and monitor a major fire that broke out in the vessels engine room some 200 kilometers west of Mumbai on Sunday afternoon local time, the Indian Coast Guard Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) reports. None of the crew members suffered any injuries in the fire. The five crewmen who remained on the vessel identified as the Vestfonn are firefighters. The vessel is owned by Baker Hughes, and operated by Indias Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONCL). MRCC received a distress call from Vestfon at around 2:20 pm local time Sunday, reporting a blazing fire in the engine room. MRCC dispatched an aircraft to the scene, and also instructed passing vessels to offer assistance in rescue operations. Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Achook was called in to provide assistance, as well as  ICGS Sankalp and ICGS Samudra Prahari. Sankalp and Prahari are equipped with fire fighting and pollution control equipment. The fire was contained at about 7:30 pm local time, and the Vestfonn was towed towards Mumbai by another ONCL vessel the Malviya 24. The extent of the damage to the vessel and the cause of the fire are still unknown. World Maritime News Staff