Fire on Tank Barge

1995

On June 2, a fire broke out in the engine room of a tank barge which was loaded with phosphoric acid.

What happened?

The tank barge ‘Stolt Mosel’ was sailing upstream on the Rhine river at Assmannshausen when a fire broke out onboard the vessel.

The reason for the fire is suspected to have been a faulty compressor onboard the tank barge. The vessel was loaded with 1,500 tons of phosphoric acid when the incident occurred.

Firefighters dispatched

The fire brigades from Assmannshausen, Rüdesheim, Bingen, Oberwesel, St. Goarshausen and others were dispatched to the site with more than 100 men. The multipurpose ferry “RPL 5” docked at the starboard side of the tank and supported the fire-fighting attack. The fire in the engine room could be extinguished quickly.

After the fire was extinguished, the vessel was ventilated and accompanied by the “RPL 5” to an emergency berth in Bingen.

Resumed its voyage

The vessel was examined by an expert and it was allowed to set sail towards its destination to Ladenburg, the port of destination where it berthed at the Reckitt Bencikser Productions to unload the cargo before returning to the Netherlands, where the damaged compressor can be replaced.

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Source: Feuerwehr Bingen-Stadt