DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – A fiery explosion erupted late Wednesday on a container ship anchored in Dubai in one of the largest ports in the world, authorities said, causing tremors to shake the UAE’s trading center.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – A fiery explosion erupted late Wednesday on a container ship anchored in Dubai in one of the largest ports in the world, authorities said, causing tremors to shake the UAE’s trading center.
The flame lit huge orange flames on a ship in the important port of Jebel Ali, the busiest port in the Middle East, which is on the east side of the Arabian Peninsula.
The burn triggered a shock wave through the skyscraper-strewn city of Dubai that shook walls and windows in neighborhoods up to 25 kilometers from the port. Panicked residents filmed from their skyscrapers how a fiery ball lit up the night sky. The explosion was powerful enough to be seen from space by satellite.
There have been no immediate reports of casualties at the port, which is also the busiest port of call for American warships outside of the United States
About two and a half hours after the explosion, Dubai’s civil protection teams said they had brought the fire under control and started the “cooling process”. Authorities posted footage of firefighters pouring huge shipping containers on social media. The glow of the fire remained visible in the background while the civil defense teams worked to contain the fire.
The extent of the damage to the sprawling port and the surrounding cargo was not immediately clear. Footage shared on social media showed charred containers, ashes and littered debris.
The sheer force and visibility of the explosion indicated the presence of a highly flammable substance. A Dubai authority informed the Saudi television broadcaster Al-Arabiya TV that the crew had been evacuated in good time and that the fire had broken out in one of the containers with “combustible material” without going into detail.
To downplay the explosion, Dubai Media Office director general Mona al-Marri told Al-Arabiya that the incident could “happen anywhere in the world” and authorities are investigating the cause.
Jebel Ali Port on the north end of Dubai is the largest man-made deep-water port in the world and serves cargo from the Indian subcontinent, Africa and Asia. The port is not only an important global freight hub, but also a lifeline for Dubai and the surrounding Emirates and serves as an entry point for important imports.
The Dubai authorities did not identify the wrecked ship, other than that it was a small ship with a capacity of 130 containers.
The ship tracker MarineTraffic showed a fleet of small auxiliary vessels encircling a docked container ship named Ocean Trader under the flag of the Comoros. Footage of the scene, re-broadcast by UAE state news agency WAM, showed firefighters hosing down a ship with a color and logo to match the Ocean Trader operated by Dubai-based Inzu Ship Charter .
The Ocean Trader docked in the port of Jebel Ali on Wednesday afternoon. Vessel tracking data showed the ship has been sailing up and down the coast of the United Arab Emirates since April. The United Nations ship database identified the ship’s owners as Sash Shipping Corporation. Sash and Inzu Ship Charter did not immediately respond to the request for comment.
Jebel Ali Port is operated by Dubai-based DP World and has a handling capacity of over 22 million containers and extensive terminals at which some of the largest ships in the world can dock. Port officials said they would “take all necessary steps to ensure normal shipping continues uninterrupted”.
The state-run DP World describes the Jebel Ali Port as a “gateway hub” and “an important link in the global trade network” that connects eastern and western markets. The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the explosion.
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Associated Press Writer Jon Gambrell of Hamilton, Ohio contributed to this report.
Isabel Debre and Aya Batrawy, The Associated Press
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