A fire broke out in a boat at the Hinsholmskilen harbor in Långedrag, Sweden, with the alarm coming at 21:29 on Wednesday evening. Police are investigating the incident as aggravated arson, and five boats were damaged, three of them extensively. Firefighting efforts were challenging due to the intense heat development and the risk of the boats tipping over. The fire spread from one boat to the next, with a significant risk of further spreading because of how closely the boats were parked. Police have not yet been able to determine if the fire was caused by negligence or an accident. There is no suspect in the case, and police cannot rule out that the fire was deliberately set.
In a separate incident, a fire broke out on a speedboat named Tequila at Ao Makham Bay on Phuket island around 10:30 am local time. The initial cause is believed to have been an explosion on the boat. Five crew members were injured and taken to hospital, and one person, a 24-year-old tour guide named Komphet Wanadee, is missing. The boat was towed away to prevent the fire from spreading to other vessels, and the fire is under control. No tourists were on board the boat.
In the United States, a large fire erupted on a barge laden with scrap metal in the Delaware Bay. The U.S. Coast Guard was alerted to the blaze around 8 a.m. The unmanned barge was being moved by a tugboat when the fire broke out, and no injuries were reported. The fire continued to burn several hours later, but ship traffic was unaffected. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
In the United Kingdom, a fire broke out on a boat at Brighton Marina. East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service was called just before 04:00 GMT, and fire crews left the scene at 07:15 GMT after handing the situation back to marina staff. The cause of the fire was accidental.
Other boat fire incidents include police and rescue services being called to Värtahamnen due to a fire on a moored passenger ship in Stockholm, and three yachts in Moscow catching fire, creating heavy smoke.