Engine room fire results in evacuation of 4 seafarers

On Saturday afternoon Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration (CGA) received a notice to rescue crew members from the 50,000-dwt bulker Panoria (IMO: 9480930) after an engine room fire broke out off the coast of Kaohsiung (LOCODE: TWKHH) in Pingtung County. The incident, which occurred around 5 p.m. on Saturday, resulted in the evacuation of four seafarers.

The CGA reported that while the crew successfully extinguished the fire, four seafarers sustained burn injuries, with one suffering severe burns.. Despite the master’s request to evacuate all 21 crew members, severe weather conditions, including wave heights exceeding 12 feet, forced 17 uninjured crew members to remain aboard the vessel.

Emergency response included five coast guard vessels and a Taiwanese Ministry of National Defence helicopter. The helicopter crew successfully evacuated the four injured seafarers to Kaohsiung International Airport, where they were transferred to a hospital for treatment.

The remaining crew stayed aboard the Panoria, as adverse weather made further helicopter operations too risky. Meanwhile, the tug Salvage Rigger was dispatched to tow the vessel.

The Panoria, built in 2008, is owned and operated in Greece. Recent port state control inspections in France and Indonesia had uncovered 19 deficiencies, including issues with firefighting equipment—raising questions about the vessel’s preparedness for such emergencies.

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