Supply ship stranded in Pacific after huge fire
VICTORIA — HMCS Protecteur is stranded at sea after it was heavily damaged in a nighttime fire that caused minor injuries to about 20 sailors.
Arrangements are being made to have the Canadian Navy supply ship, which was heading home to CFB Esquimalt, towed to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
The fire was reported at 10:20 p.m. on Thursday, when the ship was in open water on the Pacific, about 630 kilometres northeast of Pearl Harbor.
Commodore Bob Auchterlonie, commander of Canadian Fleet Pacific, applauded the actions of sailors who raced to put out the fire.
“They saved the ship last night and they saved their shipmates,” Auchterlonie said Friday.
On board were 279 crew, along with 17 family members aged between 14 and 73, and two civilian contractors. It’s a popular practice for family to join service members for the last part of an extended mission.
Auchterlonie said about 20 people suffered minor injuries while fighting the fire.
The fire extensively damaged machinery that controls the vessel’s propulsion, forcing the ship to stop.
The U.S. navy destroyer USS Michael Murphy arrived alongside the Protecteur just before 2 p.m. Friday with bottled water and equipment to help deal with damage to the ship.