Fire that damaged oil tanker in Baltic Sea put out

A fire that damaged an oil tanker in the Baltic Sea on Friday was extinguished in the Rostock seaport following a major operation, the German Central Command for Maritime Emergencies said early on Saturday.

The 73-metre Annika, which the command said was carrying 640 tons of heavy fuel oil when a fire broke out on board early on Friday, was towed to Rostock port by two tugboats, docking in the night after a five-hour operation. The ship's cargo was not affected by the fire.

The blaze had initially been contained to the engine room while the vessel was at sea about 4.5 kilometres off the German coast near Rostock, with three fire boats fighting the flames. According to the Central Command for Maritime Emergencies, 120 personnel were deployed to deal with the incident.

All seven crew members on the Annika were released from hospital on Friday evening after being brought ashore earlier in the day.

The maritime command said the cause of the fire was not known yet.

The ship was travelling from the northern port of Rostock to Travemünde when a fire broke out on its stern.

According to initial information from the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern environment ministry, there has been no water pollution so far. However, an oil barrier was being placed around the Annika in the harbour as a precaution, the command for maritime emergencies said.