Container Ship Catches Fire After Engine Room Explosion In The North Sea

An explosion in the engine room of a containership sailing in the North Sea sparked a fire on April 9, 2025.

The vessel, named, Victoria L, was travelling without cargo from Hamburg in Germany to the Port of Rotterdam when the incident occurred.

The 161-meter-long, 25-meter-wide ship is Liberian-flagged and operated by Hermann Lohmann Bereederungen.

At around 1:00 pm local time, the Dutch coastguard received an alert about a possible explosion onboard the vessel, which was approximately 56 kilometers off the coast of Scheveningen, Netherlands.

Flames were seen rising from the engine room, where the blast reportedly took place. There were 19 crew members on board at the time of the incident.

According to the Coast Guard, no injuries were reported.

The crew initially attempted to contain the fire themselves. However, after the fire started again around 1:30 pm, additional assistance was requested by the ship’s captain.

Vanuit de lucht houden we de situatie in de gaten. Op de videobeelden is het containerschip Victoria L te zien met daarbij de noodhulpsleper Multraship Protector, twee reddingboten van de @KNRM en de kustwachthelikopter. pic.twitter.com/3bVTyY6bGJ

— Kustwacht Nederland (@Kustwacht_nl) April 9, 2025

Lifeboats were dispatched from Scheveningen and Hook of Holland. A fire response team was flown to the ship by helicopter from a nearby drilling platform.

Two emergency response tugs, the tug Multraship Protector, and an oil spill response vessel were also sent to assist.

According to a coastguard update around 3:17 pm, the fire crew had boarded the ship and started assisting with extinguishing the blaze. By 5:17 pm, the fire had been brought under control, and responders began returning to the mainland.

The coastguard confirmed the situation was stable, and the ship was expected to continue its journey to Rotterdam under its own power.

One of the coastguard’s aircraft flew over the vessel during the fire and reported that there was little to no visible smoke at the time.

Meanwhile, a Dutch fire brigade team used thermal imaging cameras to investigate the vessel once the fire was extinguished.

While some local media outlets claimed that two explosions occurred onboard the Victoria L, the Dutch coastguard did not confirm this in its official updates.

Images from the scene showed the ship tilted at the back and pumping out water, likely as part of the firefighting operations.

Fortunately, the Victoria L was not carrying cargo during the incident, which reduced the risk of additional hazards. No signs of pollution were reported, though oil spill response equipment remained on standby.

The cause of the explosion on Victoria L is still unclear and investigations may begin once the vessel docks safely in Rotterdam.

References: Republic World, Sky News

Source: Maritime Shipping News