An oil tanker on fire in the Baltic Sea off the coast of northeastern Germany will be towed to port, rescue officials said Friday.
“The fire is now largely under control,” Till Backhaus, Environment Minister in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, told the Ostsee-Zeitung newspaper.
The 73-metre Annika, which was reportedly carrying 640 tonnes of heavy fuel oil when the fire broke out early on Friday morning, will be towed to the port of Rostock where the fire, which is contained to the engine room, will be extinguished. completely off.
The fire on the ship en route from Rostock to Travemünde had led to a major rescue operation amid fears of an environmental disaster.
All seven crew members of the Annika have been rescued and no environmental damage has been caused so far, the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Environment Ministry said.
“We will do everything we can to prevent greater environmental damage,” Backhaus said.
The state environment ministry said no injuries were reported, contradicting previous media reports.
The ship is currently anchored in the Mecklenburg Bay between Kühlungsborn and Warnemünde and is connected to a tugboat, rescue services said.
Black smoke from the burning ship was reportedly visible as far as the coast.
The German Central Command for Maritime Emergencies coordinated the rescue operation. The cause of the fire is not yet known.
