A large cargo ship with a fire in its hold is being kept 2 miles (3.22 kilometers) offshore of an Alaska port as a precaution while efforts are undertaken to extinguish the flames, the U.S. Coast Guard said Saturday.
There were no injuries to the 19 crew members aboard the Genius Star XI, which was carrying a load of lithium-ion batteries across the Pacific Ocean, from Vietnam to San Diego, the guard’s Alaska district said in a release.
The fire started on Christmas Day in cargo hold No. 1, a spokesperson for ship owner Wisdom Marine Group said in a statement. The crew released carbon dioxide into the hold and sealed it over concerns of an explosion.
Ship’s personnel alerted the Coast Guard early Thursday morning about the fire. The Coast Guard said it diverted the 410-foot (125-meter) cargo ship to Dutch Harbor, one of the nation’s busiest fishing ports located in Unalaska, an Aleutian Islands community about 800 miles (1,287 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage.
The crew released carbon dioxide into the hold
Apparently some larger airliners have a similar mechanism for the cargo hold of the aircraft. The system is sometimes referred to as “the puppy snuffer” :(
The “puppy snuffer” is the cargo heat outflow valve. Cargo isn’t heated unless needed, for example where the manifest says there’s animals there. It has nothing to do with fire suppression systems.
But no one should be flying with their pets anyways. Get a sitter, or if you’re moving forever, drive there. Even if moving across the ocean, I’d rather spend over a week on a boat (or even give my dog up to someone else) than subject him all alone to the stress of an airplane’s cargo hold.
Eh? My wife flew from the PNW to France with our cat when we moved. She gave her half a dose of the veterinarian prescribed knockout juice and she was completely fine. Of course, she wasn’t in the hold, but still.
