TAMPA, Fla. – The U.S. Coast Guard is currently responding to a fire onboard a vessel at the Port of Tampa.
At approximately 9:45 a.m. Wednesday, Coast Guard Cooperative Vessel Traffic Service (CVTS), located at Hookers Point, Tampa, notified watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg of a fire onboard the Sophie Oldendorff, a 742-foot Liberian-flagged cargo vessel.
The vessel’s conveyor belt reportedly caught fire during cargo offloading operations. The Sophie Oldendorff is reported to be carrying a load of granite rock.
A Coast Guard investigation team from Sector St. Petersburg Prevention Department at Davis Island in Tampa, was directed to the scene at Hookers Point, Berth 220, and are currently on scene coordinating response efforts in conjunction with the Tampa Port Authority and Tampa Fire and Rescue crews.
No injuries have been reported. The cause of the fire is unknown.
