Union accuses Australian Antarctic Division of downplaying engine room fire

Antarctic resupply vessel MPV Everest will be supported back to port by another vessel after a fire which damaged one engine and destroyed two small vessels. SEE THE DRAMATIC VIDEO >>

• Magicians' aerial efforts save Antarctic resupply
• ‘Gobsmacking’ revelations over new Antarctic vessel
• Will Nuyina fit under Tasman Bridge to reach fuel terminal?

ANTARCTIC icebreaker MPV Everest will be supported back to port by another vessel following a damaging onboard fire this week.

The chartered resupply vessel was returning to Australia when the fire broke out on Monday afternoon, pictured, damaging one engine and destroying two small vessels stored on deck.

Australian Antarctic Division operations general manager Charlton Clark said the MPV Everest is not in distress and is making way under its own power, but the ship’s owner Maritime Construction Services decided another vessel would meet MPV Everest on its journey back as a precautionary measure.

A portside engine room fire on the MPV Everest on Monday. Picture: The Australian Antarctic Division

Offshore supply vessel GO Spica is now heading south from Dampier to refuel before heading into the Southern Ocean.

“While MPV Everest doesn’t need a tug and this is not a rescue mission, GO Spica has sufficient power to assist if required,” he said.

Mr Clark confirmed the fire was “a very serious incident”.

“We’ve just had a fire at sea in a vessel in the Southern Ocean. The fire engulfed the engine room and it also destroyed two small vessels on the deck of the ship,” he said.

Mr Clark said the AAD would be reaching out to those onboard to provide welfare support.

On Friday morning the vessel was 1020 nautical miles south of Fremantle and is expected to arrive in port mid-next week.

Tasmanian Labor senator Carol Brown said the fire highlighted serious concerns raised about the vessel by the party and unions last year.

Ms Brown wrote to the chief commissioner and Australian Transport Safety Bureau CEO Greg Hood to ensure their investigation would include examining the issues of contracting, crewing and crew experience.

Vessels destroyed in Antarctic ships fire

THE Australian Antarctic Division has been accused of downplaying a fire in RSV Everest’s engine room by the country’s peak maritime union.

The chartered Antarctic resupply vessel was travelling back to Australia when the fire broke out on Monday afternoon, which the AAD said was rapidly contained and extinguished.

Operations and safety general manager Charlton Clark said the engine room was quickly isolated to contain the fire before it was extinguished by the fire suppression system.

However, Maritime Union of Australia assistant national secretary Jamie Newlyn said the AAD “was attempting to downplay the scale of this incident”.

A still image from a video taken of the engine room fire aboard RSV Everest.

“Images taken by sheltering crew members show flames leaping above the vessel’s deck, engulfing part of the cargo area,” he said.

“This was an extremely serious incident that has not only caused significant damage to one of the MPV Everest’s two engines, but resulted in the destruction of two smaller vessels stored on the deck.”

It was the second fire on the vessel this year.

MPV Everest will now travel to the closest port in Fremantle instead of Hobart.

No injuries have been reported from the incident.

The cause of the fire will be investigated by ship owner, Maritime Construction Services, alongside relevant shipping and safety regulators.

Follow @kaseywilkins95