Technical malfunction in the cooling system of the generator, caused fire in the engine room of the general cargo ship Everton. The accident happened in Mozambique Strait during operations on route from Pemba to Mitsamudu. The crew was not able to get control of the fire with the ship’s safety equipment and sent a distress signal to the coast guard. Three tugs from the local harbor arrived at the scene of the accident and started firefighting and towing operations, to take out the ship from the heavy maritime road. All 16 crew members on board were evacuated and the ship was left drifting before the fire is fully extinguished. The local authorities are monitoring the general cargo ship Everton and heading the salvage operations. There are no injured people during the accident and no pollution of the water.
The general cargo ship Everton (IMO: 9169823) has length of 100.00 m, beam of 20.00 m and draft of 5.50 m. The deadweight of the vessel is 8,874 DWT and gross tonnage of 6,714 GRT. The ship was built in the shipyard of Hudong Zhonghua Shipbuilding Group in 1997 and operated by the Greek company Multibulk Marine Management.