Pesca Azteca-Owned Seiner Partially Damaged By Fire

A fire broke out on Mexican-flagged tuna purse seiner ‘Azteca 8’ last week while it was docked at the fishing pier of Alfredo V Bonfil Industrial Park in Mazatlán. The Pesca Azteca-owned boat was partially damaged in the incident. No casualties were reported.

According to Mexican news sites, the exact reason for the fire is not known but onlookers stated that smoke and flames emerged from inside the vessel that was docked for maintenance works. Workers in the industrial park were evacuated and the blaze was quickly controlled using fire hydrants thus ensuring that it did not spend to other boats. The 73-meter-long ‘Azteca 8’ has a 1,512 gross tonnage and fishes in the IATTC convention area. The RFMOs first veda, which began on July 29, ended on October 8 and the next one will begin in November. It is unclear why the seiner, supposed to be fishing now, was docked at the port in between two veda’s.