A Panamanian-flagged car carrier suddendly caught fire off Vietnamese waters on Saturday and the blaze was put under control on Sunday, the maritime authority of Vung Tau City Port, in Vietnam’s southern Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province, reported, saying it is ready to support the vessel in distress.

The carrier AH SHIN was on route from South Korea to Singapore when the fire broke out, the carrier captain reported the fire to the Vung Tau Port Authority on Saturday evening.

At that time, the ship was located about 150 nautical miles (nearly 280 kilometers) off Vung Tau Cape, with 21 crew members, all Russian, and 4,530 cars on board.

It was also carrying 1,356 tons of fuel oil (FO) and 82 tons of diesel.

The fire was raging on the sixth and eighth floors of the 12-floor vessel and crew members used up all 50 tons of CO2 on board to attempt to extinguish the fire but to no avail.

The captain therefore asked the authority to allow the AH SHIN to divert to Vung Tau so that it could be provided with CO2 to continue to fight the fire.

Early on Sunday, the vessel was around 25 nautical miles (around 46 kilometers) southeast of the Vung Tau cape.

On the evening of the same day, the crew put the flames under control, news site VnExpress cited the captain as saying.

Powerful winds and strong waves at that time prevented rescuers from approaching the AH SHIN, the port authority reported, adding that all the crew members were safe and remained on board.

The port authority on Sunday held a meeting with relevant agencies to discuss measures to be ready to support the ship, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

There is no damage report about the cars on board the vessel which departed from Incheon Port of South Korea on January 28.

Built in 1999, the AH SHIN is 199 meters long, 32 meters wide and 23.5 meters high.

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