The Antwerp fire department is currently cooling the 1989-built car carrier Silver Sky which burst into flames around 00.30 am last night, according to a spokeswoman of the Antwerp fire brigade.
She said the temperature on board was still too high to enter the ship, so the damage caused by the fire is not yet determined.
All 24 crew members were evacuated from the vessel and there were no reports of injuries during this incident.
The ongoing fire started while the ship was docked at the Port of Antwerp.
The cause of the incident was reportedly one of the secondhand cars which were being loaded onto the vessel.
Relevant authorities are bringing the fire under control by utilizing tug boats and water canons, while CO2 will be used to suffocate the fire sources, the spokeswoman said.
The 9,772 dwt car carrier arrived in Antwerp in the evening hours of October 12 from Hamburg, Germany, according to AIS data provided by MarineTraffic.
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