Nirsa Seiner Catches Fire At Its Wharf

Ecuadorian-flagged purse seiner, ‘Maria Eulogia’, caught fire on Friday while it was moored at Nirsa’s dock in Guayaquil. Videos and photos of the vessel, engulfed in black smoke, were doing the rounds on social media during the weekend. No casualties were reported among the crew members, but the incident raised concerns about a possibility that the fire would spread to other industrial ships docked in the area. Nirsa’s team along with the Guayaquil Fire Department officials who quickly arrived at the scene, managed to extinguish the fire within a short time, reported news site Diario Expresso.

The reason for the fire is still unknown, as Nirsa has not yet released any details, and stated that it is “strictly internal.” The intensity of the damage to the purse seiner is also not known. Ecuador-flagged ‘Maria Eulogia’ is a 68-meter-long vessel with a 1,491 gross tonnage, and 1,217 m3 fish hold volume capacity. It is owned by Nirsa and has its home port in Guayaquil. The seiner operates in the IATTC convention area.