A major fire that had arisen on a merchant vessel MC Amsterdam Bridge just of the coast of Mumbai on the afternoon of Sunday. It had been brought under controll with the relentless support from the Coastguard, after six strenuous hours. The fire had not been stopped completely by is under control as smoke still continues to emanate. The cooling process would also continue.

"The flames have been contained but not extinguished. A thick plume of smoke continues to emanate from the vessel and fire-fighting as well as cooling operations are on," officials said.

This vessel weighting a whopping 54,405 tons has been carrying chemical cargo mainly and has been deemed extremely dangerous if it comes into contact with the marine life for both the marine ecosystem and the humans. Of the 112 containers on the ship at least 24 containers carry extremely dangerous chemicals weighing at least 45 tonnes.

There has been no visual evidence of any oil spill even as the fuel tank of the ship has been loaded with 2600 tonnes of heavy fuel. The reason for the breakout of the fire has not been ascertained yet but it has been guessed that it could have emanated originally from the engine and then spread to the middle of the ship by evening.

The vessel had reached the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust at the wee hours of September 8 and was en route to Sri Lanka. It was supposed to reach Colombo on Tuesday.

(AW- Anil)