Support to be sent to Antarctic resupply ship engulfed in fireball

A rescue ship will be sent to meet an Antarctic resupply vessel which was engulfed in a fireball while returning from a mission to the Davis and Mawson research stations in east Antarctica. None of the 109 people onboard, including 72 expeditioners, were injured in the fire which destroyed two six-metre inflatable boats on deck.

The Daily Mail reports a support vessel will rendezvous with the fire-damaged resupply ship which is trying to dodge bad weather at sea.

Chartered by the Australian Government, the ice-strengthened MPV Everest was traveling home after a two month resupply trip when the fire was reported in the ship’s port engine room on Monday afternoon.

At the time of the incident, the vessel was five days into a 14-day return voyage to Hobart, Tasmania but will now dock in the closer port of Freemantle, Western Australia.

According to The Guardian, the Australian Antarctic division’s general manager of operations and safety, Charlton Clark, said on Wednesday the MPV Everest was about 1,400 nautical miles south of Fremantle, “which is about five to seven days transit in good weather”.

“The vessel is currently running on the starboard engine room at about eight knots and is making headway to avoid some challenging Southern Ocean weather.”

Clark said the ship was not in distress and that the supply of support vessels was a “precautionary measure” and “for expeditioners on board, having a secondary vessel nearby will hopefully provide some reassurance.

“We are maintaining contact with the families of those on MPV Everest to keep them informed of the situation.”

It will take some days for a support vessel to arrive, with two boats currently being assessed in Western Australia for their capabilities, according to the Daily Mail, but the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) Response Centre is continuing to monitor the transit of MPV Everest and is in regular communication with the vessel.

Watch the moment the fireball engulfed the MPV Everest.