Arab News

DUBAI: The fire caused by an explosion on a container ship at Jebel Ali Port that rocked Dubai on Wednesday night was brought under control in less than 40 minutes, the port’s authorities said.

An investigation has been launched into the cause of the fire that broke out on Ocean Trader shortly before midnight, the port said on Thursday.

Operations continued as usual without any disruption on Thursday, including at terminal one where the incident took place, and the accident did not result in any injuries, authorities said.

Jebel Ali Port, Dubai Civil Defense and Dubai Police took quick measures to extinguish the blaze on the ship that was carrying flammable materials, the statement added. Port officials ordered an evacuation of the vessel and the immediate area when a leak and smoke was seen on the ship.

“The accident did not result in any injuries, thanks to the quick measures taken by the concerned authorities, which ordered the evacuation of the ship anchored in the older terminal one, which is used to unload small ships, while the other terminals two, three and four continued to operate normally and ensured the continuation of port operations without interruption,” the statement said.

The Deputy Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed visited the port on Thursday morning to “direct efforts to ensure undisrupted continuation of the facility’s operations.”

The Jebel Ali, near the border between the emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, is the biggest port in the Middle East.