The Finnish Coast Guard reported a potentially dangerous emergency situation in the Gulf of Finland on Sunday morning due to a fire in a cargo ship's engine room. The Coast Guard received a report of the fire from the Panamanian-flagged cargo ship MSC Shannon shortly after 2 am.
The cargo ship was in international waters but in the Finnish maritime rescue area, about 11 nautical miles south of Jussarö Island, part of the municipality of Raseborg (Raasepori). According to the ship's report, the crew had gained control of the fire and there was no need for outside assistance.
The 240-metre container ship MSC Shannon is en route from St Petersburg, Russia, to Le Havre, France. The 30-year-old ship is carrying 24 crew members and cargo containers weighing a total of 1,283 tonnes. The contents of the containers include flammable liquids as well as oxidising, corrosive and toxic substances.
According to the Helsinki Maritime Rescue Centre, the cargo was not in danger.
As of Sunday evening, the MarineTraffic website still showed the MSC Shannon located south of Raseborg.
Gale-force winds
After sunrise around 8 am, surveillance aircraft checked the area and found no signs of any oil or other leakage into the sea.
The Gulf of Finland Coast Guard said it geared up for a potential disaster, preparing to scramble two maritime rescue helicopters as well as the Maritime Incident Response Groups of the Helsinki and Southwest Finland Rescue Services, and three patrol vessels.
A rescue helicopter made a reconnaissance flight to the area, then landed in Hanko to wait on standby. Two patrol ships, Turva and Uisko, headed toward the ship and prepared for potential emergency towing.
The Finnish Meteorological Institute on Sunday issued a wind warning for most sea areas including the Gulf of Finland, with north to northeast gale-force winds of up to 18 metres per second.
18.28 Updated with details throughout.