A crane at the Tin Can Island Ports and Cargo Terminal Berths 7 and 8 caught fire and impacted the MV. ALGECIRAS EXPRESS vessel, which was carrying containers, leading to interrupted operations for several hours.
According to eyewitnesses, the crane went up in flames while unloading containers from the ship causing the fire to spread to the vessel and other containers.
The fire which raged for approximately four hours before the interventions of firefighters, involved a Liebherr crane and Mv Hapag-Lloyd was caused by a mechanical malfunction.
An NPA official stated that the situation was contained by firefighters after they spent nearly four hours at the scene of the incident.
He said: “The fire incident emanated from a crane that was offloading containers from an MSC vessel.
“It also affected containers on top of the vessel. The vessel was also affected. The situation has been brought under control by firemen spending almost four hours at the scene of the incident.”
A staff of the affected MV. ALGECIRAS EXPRESS, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said two units of the containers were affected, adding that no life was lost.
As of press time, the Port Manager of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) was yet to confirm the incident.
