A total of 11 sailors were rescued after a fire broke out on a product tanker while it was anchored off Lagos Port in Nigeria on Thursday, August 15.
Flames and thick, black smoke were already billowing out of the bridge and the superstructure of the Nigerian-flagged Sea Voyager by the time that rescuers finally arrived on scene at around 20:00 local time.
First to arrive in the area was the Nigerian Navy patrol boat NNS Ekulu, which had been among the first to receive the distress call sent out by Sea Voyager's crew.
Navy officials said the tanker's crew, all of whom were Pakistani nationals, were in the process of boarding their lifeboats and abandoning their stricken vessel when the patrol boat arrived.
All 11 crewmembers of Sea Voyager were rescued and later given food and medical attention by the responding navy personnel. The survivors have since been brought to a navy shore base for processing.
Meanwhile, fire boat teams despatched to the scene by the Regional Maritime Rescue Coordination Center at Kirikiri and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) were able to get the blaze under control within hours.
The cause and origin of the fire have yet to be determined.
