Update (No. 20): Incident Involving the Containership MOL Comfort

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President: Koichi Muto) updates the status of the containership MOL Comfort as of 0400UTC (1300 JST) on July 7. The vessel could not continue sailing under its own power from June 17 because the hull fractured in 2 parts while under way on the Indian Ocean. The fore part is being towed by a tug boat arranged by the salvage company.  
The tug boat reported that a fire broke out from the rear end of the fore part around 0030UTC (0930 JST) on July 6. Upon our immediate request to the salvage company to start fire fighting, the tug boat and two rescue boats have been responding to the fire. The fire is not under control due to adverse weather yet. The salvage company has requested fire fighting assistance of Indian Coast Guard, and their patrol boat “Samudra Prahari”, which is equipped with powerful external fire fighting system, is now proceeding to the scene.
Source: Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd.