A statement from UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Suhail Al Mazrouei confirmed that the affected vessel was the Ocean Trader. The fire was brought under control in just 44 minutes.
“We assure the people of Dubai and the UAE, including individuals, institutions and those associated with the maritime sector, that the logistics and operational facilities at Jebel Ali Port have not suffered any damage, and that the accident has not affected the movement of vessels due to their distance from the main shipping lane and the port’s water channel,” the statement said.
A fire aboard a ship at Dubai’s Jebel Ali port was extinguished on Thursday after it had been triggered overnight by a container explosion, the Dubai government’s media office said.
The fire at the Middle East’s largest transshipment hub was caused by a container containing flammable material, Dubai Media Office (DMO) director general Mona Al Marri told Al Arabiya television, describing it as a “normal accident.”
The DMO said there were no casualties and officials told Al Arabiya that the crew had been evacuated.
Police in Dubai, a regional business hub and one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates, said the explosion could have been caused by “friction or high temperatures” during the hot summer, Al Arabiya reported.
UAE Energy and Infrastructure Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said all logistics operations at Jebel Ali port had resumed. “Our priority now is to ensure that the accident does not affect the marine environment,” he said in a ministry statement.
The ministry named the ship as Ocean Trader. Dubai authorities earlier said it had the capacity to carry 130 containers.
Overnight, DMO had released images of water being pumped out to extinguish the flames. Witnesses in residential areas 22 km (14 miles) from Jebel Ali had heard the explosion.
The DMO said the ship was preparing to dock at a pier “away from the main shipping line of the port.”
