JAN WELLEM

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Passenger boat caught fire on the Rhine

On June 16, 2019, at 7.30 p.m. a fire broke out in the engine room of the 'Jan Wellem' (ENI-No .: 02334290) near Dusseldorf on the Rhine. The ship had just left the Dusseldorf port for a round trip when there was ean engine alarm. When the skipper went to check what had happened, he detected smoke from the engine room. He locked the hatch again and alerted the fire department. Then he berthed his ship at the shore where all 40 passengers could be dropped off before the arrival of the fire department. Nobody got hurt. Meanwhile, the fire brigade had difficulties with the approach, as the old town of Düsseldorf and the river bank were very busy because of the nice weather. As it turned out, due to a technical defect, oil had spilt on hot parts of the exhaust system and the exhaust insulation which had ignited. By turning off the machine, the fire went out by itself. The fire brigade emoved the smoldering insulation along the exhaust pipe and extinguished it on the upper deck. Then the overheated system was cooled down. About 50 forces of fire brigade, volunteer fire department, rescue service and relief organizations were on site with 16 emergency vehicles and were supported by three boats on the Rhine.