Crane engulfed in fire, damage extensive

Short-circuit in the engine room is suspected to be the cause

A Harbour Mobile Crane valued at ₹30 to ₹35 crore went into flames at Visakhapatnam Port while unloading DAP in the early hours of Monday.

No casualty was reported. The crane suffered extensive damage and the fire was doused within a short time after senior officials from the port rushed to the port and supervised fire-fighting operation.

“The incident occurred while the Liebherr-made crane owned by Seapol Port Pvt. Ltd., was unloading DAP into the vessel M.V. (motor vessel) Yasa Falcon Cielo Di Francisco at WQ-7 berth. The crane caught fire in the engine room and immediately the vessel was shifted safely away from the berth and the crane operator also got down the crane safely,” Visakhapatnam Port Trust said in a release.

This was the second such incident in the cranes owned by Seapol Port Pvt. Ltd in less than a month. VPT deployed its fire float, shore fire tenders and water tankers for controlling the fire which was extinguished completely.

The cause of the fire prima facie appeared to be due to short-circuit in the engine room of the crane. The incident was being investigated. The loss caused to the crane was yet to be assessed. Operations resumed after sometime.