Chinese Ship Catches Fire At Chittagong Port

A Chinese cargo ship caught fire at Chittagong Port leaving one of its crew hurt and the officers' cabins gutted. Laden with cargoes like paper rolls, CR coils and steel plates, MV Jin Cheng, however, escaped extensive damage, thanks to the prompt actions taken by the fire fighting teams of Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), Bangladesh Navy and Fire Brigade. Chui Dianfang, 44, the chief cook of the ship, was rushed to Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) with burn injuries to legs. His burns are not serious, hospital sources said. The fire broke out at about 6:45am at the master's cabin of the vessel of Cosco Bangladesh Shipping Lines Ltd berthed at jetty 1 of the port and soon spread to adjacent rooms, port sources said. Firefighters trying to tame the blaze at Chinese cargo ship MV Jin Cheng in Chittagong Port.Informed, two units of Fire Brigade, Chittagong Port's rescue ship Kandari-10 and Navy ship Khadem rushed to the spot. The blaze was brought under control within one hour and was completely put out at about 10:00am after two hours' frantic efforts. The vessel with cargoes from Korea berthed at the jetty sources said. To probe the incident, the CPA formed a three-member committee headed by Harbour Master Captain AKM Jafarullah Chowdhury yesterday, which would submit a report within three days starting from today. Deputy Managing Director Khandaker Sirajuddin of Cosco Shipping, a sister concern of HRC Shipping Lines, told The Daily Star that they were not sure about the origin of the fire as of 11:00am. He, however, suspected electric short circuit. Although sources said that the extent of damage could only be determined after the completion of investigation, Shafiqul Alam Jewel, managing director of berth operator Ruhul Amin and Brothers, estimated that the damage would be no less than Tk 1 crore.