The blaze that killed two firefighters aboard an Italian freighter in Port Newark, NJ, last week has finally been extinguished, officials said Tuesday.
More than five days after the fire broke out on the 10th deck of the Grande Costa d’Avorio, a ship chemist determined there was no longer any danger of it flaring up again, officials said.
“We can officially declare that the fire is out,” said Captain Zeita Merchant, commander of the New York Coast Guard. The operation has turned into a salvage effort that will take one to two months to complete, Captain Merchant said at a press conference alongside the ship.
Private contractors draw up a salvage plan. Meanwhile, the investigation into the cause of the fire and why it took so long to extinguish continues, Captain Merchant said. “We don’t know where the ship is going at this point,” she said, but it will probably have to be towed from its mooring in the harbor.
Firefighters and other emergency responders had been battling the blaze since Wednesday night by pumping water from Newark Bay onto the towering ship and its cargo of 1,200 vehicles. The ongoing fire led to speculation that some of the cars on board were electric vehicles with lithium-ion batteries.
But Beth Rooney, the port director for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said the ship’s manifest indicated no electric vehicles were on board. She said the ship carried new electric vehicles to Baltimore before arriving in Newark, where it took on a cargo of “previously owned cars” bound for West Africa. It would continue to Providence, RI, after leaving Newark, for more used cars, she said.
Ms. Rooney said there were “no known water quality issues” and air quality was monitored around the harbor and on the west side of Newark Liberty International Airport, across the New Jersey Turnpike. There was no indication of a significant effect on air quality, she said. An online monitor showed that the air quality around the port registered as moderate on Tuesday afternoon.
The fire broke out just before 9:30 p.m. Wednesday on the ship’s 10th deck and quickly spread to two upper decks. Two Newark firefighters, Augusto Acabou, 45, and Wayne Brooks Jr., 49, died trying to put down the blaze. Funeral services for the men will take place this week at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark.
Officials were concerned efforts to put out the fire might have capsized the ship, but it remained afloat with cars visible on several decks. Ms Rooney said the Grande Costa d’Avorio was “essentially a floating car park” except the vehicles were lashed to the deck for an ocean journey.
A ship chemist hired by the salvage operation manager cleared the researchers and workers to board the ship, said Gordon Lorenson, project manager for Donjon-Smit, a salvage company. While the Coast Guard works with numerous federal, state and local agencies on the investigation, the salvage team will decide what to do with the vessel after the investigation is complete.
On the wharf next to the charred ship on Tuesday morning there were no noticeable odors and the air was clear under a scorching sun. The port, one of the busiest in the country, appeared to be operating normally, with tractors and trailers hauling long steel containers to and from terminals.
A parking lot next to the berth of the burned-out ship was filled with cars that had just arrived or were about to leave. Used vehicles are one of the port’s main exports.
