Electrical fault caused explosion on oil ship in Mombasa – KPA

The Kenya Ports Authority has issued a statement regarding an explosion that occurred inside an oil ship docked at the African Marine Terminal in Liwatoni on Tuesday afternoon.

Confirming the incident, KPA stated that the likely cause of the fire on the ship, christened East Wind II, was an electrical fault.

According to the authority, the ship was lying alongside a privately owned African Marine General Engineering Company (AMGECO) ship repair yard when the incident happened.

“KPA Harbour Tug Simba III that is equipped with firefighting capability contained the fire by 1235hrs nearly an hour after the incident was reported by the master of the ship to the KPA control tower.  The instant response by the tugboat and fire brigade on the shore side ensured normalcy,” the statement reads in part.

However, the explosion resulted in one minor head injury to a crew member who was on deck watch and was rushed to hospital, where he is in stable condition.

East Wind II reportedly offloaded fuel in Zanzibar before transiting through the Port.

KPA Managing Director Captain William Ruto commended the crew of Tug simba III for successfully containing the fire.

“The fire brigade continued to monitor the situation where they left at around 1450hrs after confirming the situation was normalised and safe,” he said.