Box ship fire in Los Angeles closes terminals, prompts shelter-in-place order for residents

A joint task force of emergency responders in the US state of California were mobilised in reponse to a large container ship fire in the Port of Los Angeles.

The US Coast Guard’s (USCG) Unified Command were continuing operations on 22 November after a ship fire occurred aboard the container ship One Henry Hudson on 21 November while it was moored at Berth 218 in the Port of Los Angeles.  

As of 13:30 local time in Los Angeles on 22 November, the fire was isolated to a single cargo hold with a fire boat on scene from the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach. The ship has been moved to an anchorage approximately one mile from shore, near Angel’s Gate Lighthouse, according to the USCG.

At approximately 20:00 on 21 November, responders from multiple agencies arrived on the scene after receiving reports of smoke and fire below deck on the vessel. Reponders included the Los Angeles Fire Department, the United States Coast Guard, the Port of Los Angeles Police Department and a vessel representative, according to the Unified Command’s report.  

All 23 crew members are safe and uninjured and were evacuated with assistance from the Port of Los Angeles Police and US Customs and Border Protection. The Unified Command said several crew members of the vessel assisted in the movement and anchoring of the vessel outside the port and onboard efforts to contain the fire after the conflagration began. The LAFD deployed nearly 200 firefighters, Hazmat units, search and rescue teams, heavy-rescue assets, air operations and fire boats.  

“The Los Angeles Fire Department personnel were the first to arrive on scene and immediately co-ordinated a response with local partners from other agencies,” said LAFD incident commander, assistant chief Carlos Calvillo. “Fire burned on multiple sub-levels below deck in areas that were largely inaccessible, which required a high level of communication and co-ordination from everyone to ensure the safety of on-scene personnel and the crew members aboard the vessel. Remarkably, and thankfully, no injuries have been reported as a result of this ship fire.”   

The Coast Guard established a safety zone of approximately half a nautical mile’s circumference around the ship and was directing vessel traffic in the area for safety. The Coast Guard said it had readied additional search and rescue resources in the vicinity of the vessel fire and was assisting in stability and hazardous material assessments of the vessel. 

“We worked closely with our local partners to keep crews safe, move the vessel offshore, and prevent any disruption to the Port of Los Angeles,” said Coast Guard incident commander Capt Jarrod DeWitz. “We will continue to collaborate until the vessel is fully stable and no longer poses a risk to the port or the community.”   

The Port of Los Angeles is partnering with the Port of Long Beach to provide consistent fire boat presence on-scene to conduct fire suppression efforts and enforce the safety zone. 

Environmental Protection Agency, LA County Health Hazmat, and LAFD Hazmat have conducted air quality monitoring. The Unified Command issued a precautionary shelter-in-place order for San Pedro and Wilmington residents at approximately midnight 21 November, "out of caution even though the air quality readings were within normal ranges". The shelter-in-place order was lifted at approximately 06:30 the following morning.  

"At approximately 03:00, agencies within the Unified Command coordinated a large-scale effort to undock the ship and escort it from the Port of Los Angeles and out to sea beyond Vincent Thomas Bridge, all while continuing fire suppression and monitoring safety, structural integrity of the ship and air-monitoring operations. At 04:43, One Henry Hudson successfully anchored approximately one mile from shore, near Angel’s Gate Lighthouse. Fire suppression operations are expected to continue while salvage teams continue their work under the coordination of all agencies in Unified Command," the report said.