Cargo ship catches fire at Gujarat’s Porbandar Jetty, abandoned at sea

The vessel Haridarshan, owned by SM & Sons, was bound for Somalia

Ahmedabad | Updated: September 22, 2025 06:14 PM IST

2 min read

Smoke billows from the HRM and Sons-registered cargo vessel while loading rice and sugar for Somalia, at Porbander Jetty, in Porbander, Gujarat. (Source: Express Photo)

An hour of firefighting, both from land and sea, proved ultimately futile when a cargo ship loaded with about 1,000 tonnes of rice and sugar went up in flames while at anchor on the Porbandar Jetty early on Monday morning.

The attempts at firefighting were made by both the Porbandar Fire and Emergency Services as well as by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) vessels. Officials believed that there was a real threat of the fire reaching the diesel tanks that could set off an explosion which could damage the jetty itself and the ships anchored on either side of the vessel. The ship was bound for Somalia.

Given the risk, the crew was instructed to power up the engines and take the vessel out to sea. This was possible as the fire, which began in the cargo, had not reached anywhere near the wheelhouse or the propellers.

The vessel Haridarshan, owned by SM & Sons, was bound for Somalia.

Speaking on the incident, District Fire Officer Abhay Mehta said, “The Fire Control room received the call at 6:40 am and the first firefighting vehicle reached the jetty from Porbandar city in the next 10 minutes. Looking at the situation, they called for two more vehicles and began firefighting. Meanwhile, two ICG vessels began firefighting from the sea side of the burning vessel. Firefighting continued for approximately an hour but since the fire was inside the cargo hold, it could not be doused by spraying water from outside.”

“The crew managed to maneuver the ship out of the jetty and take it approximately 1 km out to sea. They then transferred onto the Coast Guard ships and returned to shore safely,” said Mehta. While the blaze burned out, the fire department kept a team on standby to keep an eye out on the burning vessel which was drifting and sinking.

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