Cargo ship catches fire at Bagamoyo

Bagamoyo. A cargo ship belonging to Zanzibar’s Ocean Enterprises has caught fire while docked at Bagamoyo, Coast region.

The incident occurred on Tuesday, August 14 when traders were about to load various cargo including cement onto the ship, ready for shipment to Zanzibar.

The head of the fire and rescue brigade in Bagamoyo district, Iward Mwanza said information about the incident reached them at 12.24 Pm and that they (the brigade) arrived at the scene within six minutes.

“When we arrived, we immediately started extinguishing it but by the time we completed, it has already destroyed some parts of the ship,” he said.

Preliminary findings, he said, point to the fact that the fire was caused by a technical fault on the ship’s electricity system.

According to the acting executive officer for Dunda ward in Bagamoyo, Mr Sultan Mwarami, with no person in the ship when the fire started, no casualty has so far been reported.

The captain of the ship, Mr Abdulrahaman Azizi, the destroyed ship came to Bagamoyo with 15 crew members who were to transport cement from Bagamoyo to Zanzibar.

“The ship was making its fourth trip between Bagamoyo and the semi-autonomous Indian Ocean Archipelago….This fire has interrupted our schedules,” he said.

The Coast Region Police Commander Jonathan Shanna confirmed the incident, promising to issue a statement as soon as he gets to office from his Tanga trip.