A fire which broke out on board a container ship off the coast of Les Bergeronnes, near Tadoussac, has caused uproar on the North Shore since Sunday evening. Numerous boats as well as a team of American maritime firefighters rushed to control the flames and control the drift of the behemoth after a call for help from the crew.
According to the Canadian Coast Guard, it was around 11 p.m. on Sunday that the crew of the MSC Sao Paulo V called for help because a fire had broken out in the engine room. The nearly 300 meter ship, which flies the Liberian flag, left Montreal the same day and was heading towards Portugal.
Quickly, several boats arrived to the rescue, including two pilot boats from the Laurentian Pilotage Authority and the icebreaker Amundsen.
The fire burned through the night, but the Coast Guard says no signs of pollution, loss of cargo or injuries to those on board were found.
The ship’s drift, which was becoming difficult to control in the context, began to become worrying when it was 1.5 nautical miles from the shore. But during the day on Monday, the flames were extinguished, and the movement of the ship was stopped.
“The ship managed to anchor very close to the entrance to the Saguenay Fjord around 11 a.m. Eastern time on March 4, 2024,” confirms the Coast Guard, which emphasizes that the crew did not ultimately not evacuated.
Rest without going ashore
A Radio-Canada journalist based on the North Shore claimed that the ship’s commander had refused to allow his crew to be evacuated despite the situation, but federal authorities would not confirm this information to The Press. “Your question should be redirected to MSC,” a Coast Guard spokeswoman said.
The shipowner MSC, the largest container shipping company in the world, also known as Mediterranean Shipping Company, had not yet commented on the situation at the time of publishing these lines. Another company ship, the MSC Don Giovanniapproached the damaged ship, and the sailors were able to go there to rest without ever going ashore.
The tugboat Ocean Taiga, one of the most powerful in the country, which is based in the Quebec region, also went there to lend a hand. Built by experts from L’Isle-aux-Coudres, the tug is also equipped to fight fires at sea.
The shipowner then brought in further relief from the United States at its own expense. “This morning, March 5, a specialized team of American firefighters, called as reinforcements by the MSC company, boarded the ship to assess the situation,” explained the Coast Guard.
Contacted by The PressMarc-Yves Bertin, the first director of the Laurentides Pilotage Authority, did not want to comment on the work of the pilots involved in the operation under the pretext that the situation remains “dynamic”.