Fire erupts aboard Caribbean Fantasy forcing over 500 people to evacuate

The vessel caught fire off the coast of San Juan this morning, and at around 11 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, USCG Lieutenant Commander Ryan Kelley told American Shipper that all passengers were evacuated and the 26 crewmembers were then being evacuated.    More than 500 passengers and crew were evacuated Wednesday morning from a passenger and car ferry, the Caribbean Fantasy, which caught fire off the coast of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
   The U.S. Coast Guard said at approximately 7:42 a.m., Coast Guard Sector San Juan received a report of a fire aboard the Panamanian-flagged ship, a 561-foot passenger/car ferry that America Cruise Ferry operates between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
   The ship was carrying 512 passengers and crew and there were no reports of injuries.
   At around 11 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, U.S. Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander Ryan Kelley told American Shipper that all passengers had been evacuated and the 26 members of the crew, including the captain, were then being evacuated.
   The fire reportedly began in the ship’s engine room and spread to other compartments on board.
   Passengers were being taken to Pier 6 in San Juan port.
   The ship was about two miles north of San Juan Harbor when the the fire began, but then drifted toward shore and ran aground on a sand and shell beach 800 yards offshore in Punta Salinas, about 2 miles west of San Juan.
   Kelley said fire boats were pumping water on the ship.
   The Coast Guard said multiple air and surface crews responded including two Coast Guard 33-foot Special Purpose Craft crews and one 45-foot Response Boat Medium crew out of Coast Guard Station San Juan. Also on-scene is the Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Tezanos and a small boat from the Coast Guard Cutter Donald Horsley.
   The Coast Guard also said additional agencies and vessels were being diverted to assist, including the Puerto Rico Joint Forces of Action (FURA); and fire, pilot and tug boats from the port.