Bulk carrier catches fire near Port of Spain harbour

ON May 14, residents of Port of Spain overlooking the Gulf of Paria could see a thick cloud of black smoke coming from the harbour as the AV Aqua Marine, a bulk carrier, caught on fire.

Speaking with Newsday, the National Energy Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago's corporate communications officer said, after reciept of an emergency call for assistance from the Coast Guard at 8.48 am, its National Energy Resilience Team was deployed.

Responding to the fire at 9.20 am, the team used its 1,200 gallon-per-minute firefighting monitor system and was able to extinguish the flames onboard.

The flames were extinguished by 11.10 am and no injuries were reported.

The owner of the vessel has not been disclosed.

The cause of the fire is yet to be determined.

Newsday called the Port Authority but got no response.

When contacted, Coast Guard representatives declined comment.

In February, two police service coastal support officers were injured when their boat's engine exploded at sea.

In 2023, a fire onboard the MV Cabo Star stranded passengers for 17 hours, causing a major disruption to travel between Trinidad and Tobago.