Update: Alliance St. Louis Heads to Port Arthur

The vehicle carrier Alliance St. Louis, which suffered an engine room fire some 150 miles south of Southwest Pass, Louisiana, on January 16, 2017, is currently under tow and is heading towards Port Arthur, Texas, the US Coast Guard (USCG) informed.

A tug arrived on scene on January 17 with a fire team aboard to clear the Alliance St Louis’ engine room for safety. The tug put the 57,280 dwt car carrier in tow a day after to take it to Sabine Bank Pilot Station near Port Arthur, Texas, according to the USCG.

On January 16, the USCG launched an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircrew who conducted an over flight of the vessel and confirmed that the fire had been extinguished by the crewmembers.

The 20 crewmembers aboard the ship, which is owned by the US shipping company Alliance Navigation LLC, are all accounted for with no reported injuries or medical conditions, the USCG said.

No pollution has been reported.

The cause of the incident is under investigation.