A fire aboard a ship in Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port was extinguished on Thursday after being sparked overnight by an explosion in a container, according to Reuters.
The fire in the Middle East’s largest transshipment center was started by a container containing flammable material, according to Dubai Media Office (DMO) Director-General Mona Al Marri, who described it as a “normal accident” on Al Arabiya television.
There were no casualties, according to the DMO, and port authorities had taken precautions to ensure that normal shipping was not disrupted.
Witnesses heard the explosion from as far away as 22 kilometers from Jebel Ali.
DMO has broadcast footage of water being pumped to put out the fires overnight. According to Reuters witnesses, cars engaged in routine port activity continued to enter and exit the port area while firefighting vehicles came to put out the fire.
The ship concerned was not identified by DMO, but it had a capacity of 130 containers, according to DMO. The ship was prepared to dock at a berth “away from the port’s main shipping line”. The crew has been evacuated, officials said Al Arabiya.
DP World, the owner of Jebel Ali Port, which handled to carry 13.5 million containers in 2020, did not respond to a request for comment.
