A spectacular fire erupted aboard a Singpore registered vessel "Berkah 33" carrying 8,000 tonnes of coal outside Sriracha harbour. The Indonesian captain and crew battled for over 5 hours to douse the flames when the ship's cargo of coal suddenly erupted into flames.
Several times they thought the fire was out only to have more flames erupt from hot spots in other parts of the cargo. The vessel was kept about 2km out to sea even so thick smoke surrounded the area and officials from environmental agencies were brought in to monitor air quality with concerns for local residents ashore. The vessel was not seriously damaged and will be allowed to dock to have the cargo of coal cautiously unloaded.
Officials speculate that the cargo of coal became unusually hot due to the hot weather and spontaneously combusted with the atmosphere.
Spontaneous Combustion - I wish they had invented that 50 years ago when it often took me 5 hours and dozens of fire lighters to get a decent fire aglow at me mothers house in Yorkshire.
