Archive image: A U.S. Coast Guard loadmaster performs pre-flight inspection on an HC-130J Super Hercules assigned to Air Station Kodiak, Alaska at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Sept. 21, 2023.
Members of the USCG traveled to Japan for Operation North Pacific Guard,an annual high seas U.S. fisheries international law enforcement operation designed to detect and deter illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
U.S. Air Force photo by Yasuo Osakabe.
JUNEAU, Alaska – The Coast Guard is assisting a vessel on fire initially located approximately 225 nautical miles southwest of Dutch Harbor, Alaska. Friday, December 29, 2023.
At 4:40 a.m. Thursday, the Coast Guard 17th District Command Center in Juneau received report of a cargo hold fire aboard vessel Genius Star XI. The fire is contained but ongoing.
The U.S. Coast Guard watchstanders directed Genius Star XI to continue toward Dutch Harbor while an HC-130 Hercules airplane crew from Air Station Kodiak and Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley (WMEC-39) were dispatched to assist.
The Genius Star XI will remain offshore from Dutch Harbor as response crews prepare to assist and the Coast Guard will establish a safety zone around the vessel. The Genius Star XI is a 410-foot cargo vessel and is carrying lithium-ion batteries.
The Cutter crew was conducting flight operations off the coast of Kodiak, Alaska, with a helicopter crew from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer First Class Jasen Newman.
“We applaud the crewmembers aboard Genius Star XI, whose swift actions kept the fire contained to this point,” said Captain Chris Culpepper, Commander of Coast Guard Sector Anchorage. “This will be an ongoing team effort as we work to safely extinguish the fire, provide any necessary medical care for the crew, and mitigate the dangers associated with a shipboard fire.”
The cause of the fire remains unknown. An investigation into the cause of the fire will take place once response efforts are complete.
–USCG–
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