Denmark ship on fire off Oman coast, 4 missing

The shipping branch of the Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk says four people are missing after “a serious fire” erupted on one of its cargo ships off the coast of Oman. Maersk Line says the fire broke out on Tuesday on Maersk Honam and firefighter efforts were “unsuccessful”, after which “the crew sent out a distress signal and a total of 23 crew members were safely evacuated to the nearby vessel ALS Ceres”.

Maersk Line says the fire is still burning and “the situation of the vessel is very critical”. Soeren Toft, a senior official within the Copenhagen-based group, said Wednesday three other vessels had diverted their route and headed to assist in the search and rescue. The cause of the blaze is still unknown.