Full fire on ships outside Gothenburg – 17 people on board – VG

The ship’s crew has not yet been evacuated, and on Saturday they are working hard to put out the flames.

– It’s getting worse. It’s burning more and more, says rescue chief Anders Lännholm at VG’s Swedish main rescue center at 17 o’clock.

An hour later there was still a full fire on board.

– We are talking about an incredible amount of wood, and this will burn for a long time. We now have 13 firefighters on board trying to put out the fire, says Lanholm at 18.20.

He says that among the solutions offered is to move the ship closer to land to facilitate the work. It is not possible.

– It burns in the cab where the anchor is checked, so we can’t pull it off. The crane on board is also on fire, so we can’t lift wood that hasn’t caught fire yet, the rescue chief says.

The ship is anchored off Venga, and according to the rescue center, there were 17 people on board. Lanholm says it was not appropriate to evacuate them yet.

– The captain wants them on the plane. There are those who inhaled smoke, but so far they do not want to help. He explains that we have four ambulances ready on the ground if something happens.

The ship is Almirante Storni, which is 177 meters long and is loaded with timber. It has now been burning for several hours, and the crew is still on board.

Major rescue efforts are still underway, and rescue chief Lanholm realizes it will take time to get the situation under control.

– It’s a very big ship in question. I don’t know how many tons of timber there are, but it’s a lot.

– We have a whole bunch of boats there now. Previously we also had a Danish patrol boat and a frigate from Portugal. I think everyone is here except Norway, he jokes, before adding that there are enough resources on site.

It is not yet known how the fire started.