A floating boom was put in place around the Dong Won 701 to contain any possible spillage from the vessel.

It is hoped a fire burning on a Korean fishing vessel docked at the Port of Timaru has finally burnt out after almost a week, but crews won't know for sure until they re-enter the boat tomorrow.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) South Island assistant area commander Rodger Smith said crews had been working through the weekend closely monitoring the temperature of the ship as they tried to finally bring the fires under control.

"We're continuing to apply water jets to the outside parts of the vessel.

JOHN BISSET/STUFF Fire crews will re-enter the Dong Won 701 on Monday to check if the fires have burnt out.

"Logistically these sorts of fires are always challenging but we've got firefighters from Dunedin, Invercargill, Wellington, as well as locals to assist," Smith said.

READ MORE:

* Fishing boat staying put

* Port operations resume

* TAIC inquiry begins

The 70-metre Dong Won 701 Korean fishing vessel caught fire about 9.30pm on Monday.

Since then emergency services crews and authorities have been working to bring the fire under control and minimise its impact on the harbour and operations at the port.

Smith said the plan now was for fire crews to re-enter the boat, which was sealed on Friday in an effort to contain the fires, on Monday.

"We can't guarantee that all the fires are out but we're pretty confident that they are," he said.

Smith said once the fire was out, Fenz would cease its involvement with the vessel.​​

The incident is being investigated by the Transport Accident Investigation Commission. </s> Attempts are under way to suffocate the fires still burning on the Korean fishing vessel in the Port of Timaru.

Towing a burning Korean fishing boat out to sea from the Port of Timaru has been deemed too dangerous.

The 70-metre Dong Won 701 caught fire while docked at the port on Monday night and authorities have been struggling to extinguish the fires since.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) South Canterbury area manager Steven Greenyer revealed on Friday that one option considered was towing it out to sea, but this has been deemed too dangerous.

1 of 20 JOHN BISSET/STUFF Water is sprayed on the fishing vessel Dong Won 701 that is on fire in the Port of Timaru. 2 of 20 JOHN BISSET/STUFF Water is sprayed on the fishing vessel Dong Won 701 that is on fire in the Port of Timaru. 3 of 20 JOHN BISSET/STUFF 13042018 News JOHN BISSET/STUFF. Ship fire The fishing vessel Dong Won 701 is still smoking as firefighters continue efforts to extinguish the fire. 4 of 20 JOHN BISSET/STUFF Water is sprayed on the fishing vessel Dong Won 701 that is on fire in the Port of Timaru. 5 of 20 JOHN BISSET/STUFF Firefighters on board the Dong Won 701 that caught fire while docked in the Port of Timaru on April 9, 2018. 6 of 20 JOHN BISSET/STUFF Firefighters prepared to board the Dong Won 701, a Korean fishing boat that caught fire in the Port of Timaru on April 9, 2108. 7 of 20 JOHN BISSET/STUFF Water is sprayed on the fishing vessel Dong Won 701 that is on fire in the Port of Timaru. 8 of 20 DOUG FIELD/STUFF Steam and smoke can be seen rising from the Korean fishing vessel Dong Won 701 at the port of Timaru on April 11, 2018. 9 of 20 DOUG FIELD/STUFF Water is sprayed on the burning fishing vessel Dong Won 701 at the Port of Timaru on April 11, 2018. 10 of 20 DOUG FIELD/STUFF Water is sprayed on the burning fishing vessel Dong Won 701 at the Port of Timaru on April 11, 2018. 11 of 20 DOUG FIELD/STUFF Water is sprayed on the burning fishing vessel Dong Won 701 at the Port of Timaru on April 11, 2018. 12 of 20 DOUG FIELD/STUFF Water is sprayed on the burning fishing vessel Dong Won 701 at the Port of Timaru on April 11, 2018. 13 of 20 DOUG FIELD/STUFF Water is sprayed on the burning fishing vessel Dong Won 701 at the Port of Timaru on April 11, 2018. 14 of 20 JOHN BISSET/STUFF Water is sprayed on the burning fishing vessel Dong Won 701 at the Port of Timaru on April 10, 2018. 15 of 20 JOHN BISSET/STUFF Water is sprayed on the burning fishing vessel Dong Won 701 at the Port of Timaru on April 10, 2018. 16 of 20 AURORA BOURASSA/SUPPLIED The Korean fishing vessel Dong Won 701 on fire at the Port of Timaru on April 9, 2018. 17 of 20 JOHN BISSET/STUFF The Korean fishing vessel Dong Won 701 on fire at the Port of Timaru on April 9, 2018. 18 of 20 JOHN BISSET/STUFF The Korean fishing vessel Dong Won 701 on fire at the Port of Timaru on April 9, 2018. 19 of 20 JOHN BISSET/STUFF The Korean fishing vessel Dong Won 701 on fire at the Port of Timaru on April 9, 2018. 20 of 20 JOHN BISSET/STUFF The Korean fishing vessel Dong Won 701 on fire at the Port of Timaru on April 9, 2018.

"We had permission to tow the ship out to sea, but when you've got a major fire on the front part of the ship, you can't tow it forward... towing it from the stern would have meant turning the ship around into the wind meaning the fire would have come back into the rest of the ship and also placed the tugs in danger," Greenyer said.

READ MORE:

* Port operations resume as fishing boat fire burns on]

* TAIC begins inquiry into ship's fire in Port of Timaru

"The other issue was if we towed it out and it sinks in the channel then that closes the port, so that was really a last option.

JOHN BISSET/STUFF A close up of fire damage to the Korean fishing boat, Dong Won 701, in the Port of Timaru.

"If the ship had to sink then it's better that it sinks alongside here (the wharf), rather than out in the channel."

PrimePort chief executive Phil Melhopt said port operations were largely back to normal. There were no more delays to ships arriving in port, he said.

"We're mostly out of the woods, but there is still a lot of work going on to smother the two fires," Melhopt said.

JOHN BISSET/STUFF The fishing vessel Dong Won 701 is still smoking as firefighters continue efforts to extinguish the fire.

Greenyer said the fires had been contained but there were two still burning in the ship and attempts to suffocate them began on Friday.

"One is still burning in the cargo hold, while another is in the front the boat."

Greenyer said things like the port holes and doors were being sealed up to help starve the fires of oxygen.

DOUG FIELD Korean fishing vessel Dong Won 701 at Timaru Port

"We're still finishing work to try and smother the fire.

"We're also using a sealing agent (high expansion foam) to seal up doors and any holes so we can starve the fires of air, and then they're more likely to go out.

"The accommodation area of the ship and half of the internal area is burnt-out or badly damaged. The rear part of the ship is still intact."

JOHN BISSET/STUFF At least five fire crews battle a blaze on a fishing vessel at the Port of Timaru on Monday night.

A tug boat carrying firefighters is also still being used to cool the sides of the ship.

"We anticipate that this will take some time to fully extinguish."​

Greenyer said about 20 fire crew members were still attending the blaze, with some coming from as far south as Dunedin.

MYTCHALL BRANSGROVE/STUFF The fishing vessel Dong Won 701 photographed at 11.20am on Thursday at the Timaru Port. It is still smoking as the fire onboard remains to be extinguished.

As the battle to extinguish the fires continued, Environment Canterbury (ECan) has declared a Tier 2 response, under the Maritime Transport Act 1994, which allows it to manage the potential risk of oil or other contaminants getting into the harbour water.

"We have trained responders closely monitoring the situation and will mobilise them should the need arise," said ECan's on-scene commander for marine oil spills, Richard Purdon.

"In addition specialised containment and collection equipment is in place and ready for use if needed.

MYTCHALL BRANSGROVE/STUFF More than 20 fire crew and a host of Timaru Port and Environment Canterbury are attending the ship's fire.

"For now it's a monitoring operation. No oil has escaped from the fishing boat."

Fenz is continuing to douse the fire from the outside to reduce the risk the boat could move or sink.

"The area close to the boat is considered too dangerous for our responders to work in. As soon it is safe to do so, we will deploy a boom around the vessel to contain any potential spill, reducing the risk of environmental harm," Purdon said.

The Dong Won 701 is owned by Dong Won Fisheries and the company's chief executive, Tae Wang, said on Wednesday it was continuing to work with the port and safety authorities while also attending to the welfare of the ship's crew. </s> At least five fire crews battle a blaze on a fishing vessel at the Port of Timaru on Monday night.

Witnesses report hearing a loud bang when a fishing ship caught fire at the Timaru Port.

Ten fire crews and a tug boat are fighting the blaze at the front of the 81-metre Dong Won 701 fishing vessel docked next to the San Won building.

Fire and Emergency NZ southern communications shift manager Tim Reynolds said 10 fire crews including one from Christchurch were responding to the incident, which started about 9.25pm.

JOHN BISSET/STUFF The ship is docked next to the San Won cool stores building in Timaru.

Do you know more? Email newstips@stuff.co.nz.

He said the ship, the Dong Won 701, was "well involved in flames", but all persons from the ship were accounted for.

JOHN BISSET/STUFF Firefighters from around South Canterbury are being called to the burning ship in Timaru's harbour.

Reynolds said fire crews were still actively dealing with the fire as of 11.50pm, and had not confirmed it was contained yet.

He said the size of the response was due to the size of the fire, and he expected at least some of the crews would be there overnight.

A St John spokesman said three patients had been taken to Timaru Hospital with minor injuries. They were checked for smoke inhalation.

SUPPLIED Emergency services are responding to a large ship fire at Timaru Port.

A police spokeswoman said emergency services were called to the fire about 9.25pm.

Police were there as "essentially a bit of crowd control on land", she said.

Soosie Lucas, who lives opposite the port, said there was a "loud bang" when the ship caught fire.

JOHN BISSET/STUFF Fire crews battle to bring a fire under control on a fishing boat in the port of Timaru

"It boomed all around the port, it was a big loud bang."

Lucas said "very thick and dense" smoke was spewing from the ship when the fire started, but it had been dampened down by the rain.

There was a traffic jam forming from people coming down to look at the fire, Lucas said.

An eyewitness said there was "a heavy emergency services presence", with at least five fire trucks, a command unit, and three ambulance on scene.

She said a crowd of people were looking on from behind the fence, despite the cold and rainy night.

The Dong Won 701 is a South Korean fishing vessel which arrived in port on Monday morning, and was due to leave on Tuesday. It was one of the boats involved in an employment court action in 2014 for paying crew below the minimum wage.

Its owned by Korean fishing company Dong Won Fisheries. Its website said it has over $150 million USD annual revenue, operates a seafood processing plant in China, and a specialised seafood processing company in called San Won in Timarua [sic], New Zealand. </s> A fishing ship fire in Timaru Port has been contained but fire crews will stay on board through the day.

Last night 10 fire crews fought the fire on the 80m Dong Won 701 fishing vessel docked at the South Canterbury port.

Three crew members have been treated for smoke inhalation.

A Timaru District Council webcam showed a large amount of smoke coming from the port last night after the fire broke out about 9.30pm.

Advertisement

🚒 TIMARU PORT - Crews from Christchurch have been called to assist a ship on fire at the port of Timaru. Webcam view here:https://t.co/RZuQD6DcFi pic.twitter.com/jDOcxYNlvm — Christchurch Live (@03alert) April 9, 2018



A Fire and Emergency spokesman said this morning the fire had been contained but seven crews would stay there for most of the day.

Dozens of onlookers watched the fire last night. </s> Fire crews are battling a blaze onboard a ship at the Timaru Port.

A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said 10 fire crews from Timaru and the surrounding area were fighting the fire.

Three people are being treated for smoke inhalation after a fire broke out on the ship they were onboard at Timaru Port.

Emergency services responded to the fire around 9.30pm.

A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said no one is now on the vessel and the fire is not at risk of spreading. </s> Russian border patrol was forced to open fire during inspection of a fishing vessel with North Korean crew onboard. The crew resisted search, behaved aggressively, and tried to flee with the members of the Russian security forces on board, according to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).

One Russian border patrol officer and nine North Korean fishermen were injured in the stand-off. One of the injured fishermen later died in the hospital.

The incident happened on Friday evening at 22:20 Moscow time (19:20 GMT) in Russia’s exclusive economic zone in the country’s Far East, according to the FSB statement, released online on Saturday. The term "exclusive economic zone" describes an area of coastal water in a certain distance from the country’s shore, where the respective state has exclusive rights for fishing and other economic activities.

Read more

“During the search and control activities, [Russian border guards] found illegally-obtained water bio resources on board the vessel. The ship’s crew behaved aggressively towards members of the search group, refusing to comply with legal requirements,” the FSB said in a statement.

The vessel had 48 North Korean crew members on board.

After a search group was dispatched to the vessel, the ship attempted to leave Russia’s exclusive economic zone towards North Korea, FSB announced.

The Russian border guard vessel fired several “warning shots to stop” the North Korean ship, yet the vessel still continued its maneuver.

The crew of the North Korean vessel also tried to attack the FSB members already on board their vessel. As a result “one of the members of the search team sustained a head injury.”

In the immediate aftermath Russian FSB agents fired shots at the North Korean crew to prevent them from “obtaining weapons” from the border guards and further “harming them.”

“Nine crew members of the intruder-ship were injured, one of them later died,” the FSB stated.

After treating the injured, the North Korean crew was taken to the Russian border guard ships.

The FSB also noted that the injured North Koreans from the vessel will be taken to different Russian ports in the region.

The FSB has already “informed the Consulate General of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the [Russian] city of Vladivostok on the use of weapons and the measures undertaken.”

Later, the FSB announced that the captured vessel would arrive in the Primorsky Territory, for an investigation. "On board of the ship there is a doctor, who is delivering medical care [to any remaining injured fishermen],” an FSB spokesperson told RIA Novosti. </s> More than 20 people have been rescued and one has died after an oil tanker caught fire just off Hong Kong (AFP Photo/Handout)

Hong Kong (AFP) - At least one person has died after an oil tanker caught fire off Hong Kong on Tuesday, police said, sending a huge cloud of dark smoke billowing into the air.

Twenty-one people have been rescued after those on the vessel either fell or jumped into the sea, according to a police spokesperson, but it is not yet clear if more people are still missing. A number of the victims had suffered burns.

In a picture posted by the Hong Kong Police, the tanker was seen listing sharply with large plumes of black smoke coming from its middle and flames still burning on the deck.

Officers said they received a report of an oil tanker exploding and catching fire in waters south of the outlying Lamma Island.

"I heard several banging and rumbling sounds, like someone with big hands knocking my glass door," a resident of Lamma Island's Mo Tat New Village who gave his name as Shu told AFP.

He added that a smaller banging sound followed about 10 seconds later.

Photos on local news site Apple Daily showed an orange blaze on the ship which was also belching out heavy smoke.

The name on the front of the tanker was Aulac Fortune, which the Hong Kong marine department tracker website showed as arriving at the South Lamma anchorage at 2.58 am Tuesday local time.

The MarineTraffic.com website listed the tanker as registered in Vietnam and leaving the southern Chinese industrial city of Dongguan on Monday.

Authorities have dispatched marine police vessels, fireboats and a helicopter in an ongoing rescue operation, the South China Morning Post reported. </s> Firefighters work as smoke billows from a hospital in Miryang, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 26, 2018. The hospital fire causes scores of casualties and injuries, according to a fire agency official. (National Fire Agency/Yonhap via AP)

SEOUL: A fire swept through a hospital for the elderly in southeastern South Korea on Friday, killing more than 30 people and injuring dozens in one of the country's deadliest fires in recent years.

Fire official Choi Man-wu said in a televised briefing that the fire at Sejong Hospital in the city of Miryang killed 31 people and injured 77, eight of them in critical condition.

The fire started from the first floor emergency room of the hospital at 7:35 a.m. and was extinguished at 10:26 a.m., Choi said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

He said a total of 194 people had been hospitalized in two buildings of Sejong Hospital, including 94 elderly people who were hospitalized in the nursing hospital, before the fire broke out.

President Moon Jae-in's office said Moon convened an emergency meeting with top advisers to discuss the fire. But it gave no further details.

Sejong Hospital has a nursing hospital for the elderly and also offers regular medical services. The hospital has 193 beds including 98 beds for the elderly who needs nursing care with 35 medical staff, according to Yonhap news agency.

South Korea is one of the fastest-aging countries in the world and has many nursing hospitals, which are preferred for elderly people who need long-term doctors' care.

Several recent fires in South Korea have been deadly.

In late December, 29 people were killed in a building fire in central Seoul, which was the country's deadliest blaze over the past decade before the hospital fire. Last weekend, a fire at a Seoul motel killed six people, and police arrested a man who allegedly set it ablaze in anger because he had been denied a room for being heavily drunk.

In 2014, a fire set by an 81-year-old dementia patient killed 21 at another hospital for the elderly. </s> A fire official says the toll from a hospital fire in South Korea has risen to 31 dead with 77 injured.

A fire official says the toll from a hospital fire in South Korea has risen to 31 dead with 77 injured.

(Kim Dong-mi/Yonhap via AP). Firefighters work as smoke billows from a hospital in Miryang, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 26, 2018. More than a dozen people were died in the hospital fire, according to a fire official.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - A fire swept through a hospital for the elderly in southeastern South Korea on Friday, killing more than 30 people and injuring dozens in one of the country's deadliest fires in recent years.

The fire at Sejong Hospital in the city of Miryang killed 31 people and injured 81, 14 of them in critical condition, the state-run National Fire Agency said. Agency officials said the death toll could increase.

Details of the fire including its cause were unknown. But local Miryang fire officials said they put out the blaze at 10:26 a.m., nearly three hours after it started at the first-floor emergency room of the hospital.

A National Fire Agency official said many of the deaths were confirmed after the victims were taken to nearby hospitals while being put on artificial ventilators. But he said he has no further details including the identification of the dead. The official spoke on condition of anonymity saying he wasn't authorized to speak to media.

A total of 194 people had been hospitalized in two buildings of Sejong Hospital, including 94 elderly people who were hospitalized in the nursing hospital, before the fire broke out, Miryang fire official Choi Choi Man-wu said in an earlier televised briefing.

Sejong Hospital has a nursing hospital for the elderly and also offers regular medical services. The hospital has 193 beds including 98 beds for the elderly who needs nursing care with 35 medical staff, according to Yonhap news agency.

South Korea is one of the fastest-aging countries in the world and has many nursing hospitals, which are preferred for elderly people who need long-term doctors' care.

President Moon Jae-in convened an emergency meeting with senior advisers and expressed regret over the blaze. He ordered officials to provide necessary medical supports to those rescued, find the exact cause of the fire and work out measures to prevent future fires, according to his spokesman Park Su-hyun.

Several recent fires in South Korea have been deadly.

In late December, 29 people were killed in a building fire in central Seoul, which was the country's deadliest blaze over the past decade before the hospital fire. Last weekend, a fire at a Seoul motel killed six people, and police arrested a man who allegedly set it ablaze in anger because he had been denied a room for being heavily drunk.

In 2014, a fire set by an 81-year-old dementia patient killed 21 at another hospital for the elderly.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
A fire breaks out on South Korean fishing vessel FV Dong Won 701 in the Port of Timaru, New Zealand. Ten fire crews and a tug are in attendance. At least three are hospitalised and the ship is evacuated.