LOS ANGELES (AP) – A fire that broke out aboard the container ship One Henry Hudson in Los Angeles has continued to burn through the night, leading to a shelter-in-place order for nearby communities over fears concerning hazardous materials in the ship's cargo.
According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, all 23 crew members have been accounted for and there have been no injuries reported from the electrical fire. Officials confirmed that hazardous materials were identified aboard the vessel.
Just before 3 a.m., Mayor Karen Bass announced the shelter-in-place order for the areas near the port, including San Pedro and Wilmington. In a message on social media, she advised residents to:
“Remain at home, keep windows closed and turn off HVAC systems.”
The U.S. Coast Guard has set up a safety perimeter of one nautical mile around the ship.
The fire is believed to have originated below deck before spreading to various levels of the ship, resulting in a mid-deck explosion, although the precise cause of the fire remains unclear.
More than 100 firefighters were dispatched to combat the blaze at the Port of Los Angeles, which is the busiest seaport in North America. Their efforts have been persistent throughout the night, according to Mayor Bass.
The 1,102-foot-long vessel is operated by One Ocean Express, a shipping company based in Singapore. Before arriving in Los Angeles, the ship made stops in Japan, including Kobe, Nagoya, and Tokyo. One Ocean Express has not yet commented on the situation.
