Fire breaks out on Russian nuclear-powered ship

Murmansk

A fire broke out on a nuclear-powered Russian cargo ship on Sunday (Dec 24).The incident took place in one of the cabins of the cargo-icebreaker Soviet-era ship, currently docked in Murmansk, northern Russian city.

The state company which runs the ship said that emergency crews put out the fire and that there were no casualties. It added there wasn't any threat to the nuclear reactor.

Russia's emergency ministry has said that at its peak, the fire covered 30 square metres (323 square feet) area on the ship.

"The fire was quickly liquidated," Atomflot, which owns the vessel, said in a statement. "There were no injuries."

"There was no threat to crucial support systems or to the reactor plant," Atomflot said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the fire. There was no immediate official clarification on this.

Atomflot is part of Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear corporation. Atomflot operates the country's fleet of nuclear icebreakers.

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Sevmorput, the ship on which the fire broke out, entered service in the year 1988. Just a decade ago, the ship underwent an extensive upgrade. It is the only nuclear-powered icebreaking transport ship in Russia, says Rosatom.

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Murmansk region in northwest Russia borders Norway and Finland. It also has access to the Barents and White seas.

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The fire at the nuclear powered ship caused a scare in world media, and may start a debate about safety and risks around nuclear-powered shipping.

Sevmorput, the ship in question has been in news due to previous incidents. It was allegedly involved in an incident which caused damage to an undersea gas pipeline.

(With inputs from agencies)