A German ship with burning wood cargo was towed to a Swedish port WGN Radio 720
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HELSINKI (AP) – A German-owned cargo ship ravaged by fire was towed to a port in Gothenburg, western Sweden, on Saturday after a week-long fire in the North Sea as the ship’s wooden cargo caught fire.
The Liberian-flagged Almirante Storni, which was built in 2012, was towed to Gothenburg early Saturday under the supervision of pilots and tugs under the Swedish Coast Guard, authorities said.
The ship issued an emergency announcement on 4 December when its wood cargo caught fire and although the ship itself did not burn, Swedish authorities said it was difficult to extinguish the burning timber at sea. Boats from Denmark and Norway helped put out the fire this week.
The ship, reportedly en route to Alexandria in Egypt, was anchored off the island of Vinga near Gothenburg this week before being taken to port on Saturday.
Experts are now investigating a vessel owned by the Hamburg-based shipping company NSC that the wood cargo is still hot and not completely enclosed.
“Now it looks really good. The start-up was put out pretty immediately, but the cargo was still burning at full capacity and we were unable to put out the fire on our waterways,” Swedish Coast Guard spokesman Jonas Grevstad told Swedish broadcaster SVT.
Swedish news agency TT said Almirante Storn’s 17-strong crew is still on board rescue and firefighters who are now trying to unload the ship’s smoky wooden cargo.