On November 26, 2025, at 0908 hours, Wilmington firefighters on the B Platoon were dispatched to a reported cargo ship fire on the Chiquita Voyager flagged out of Liberia at the Port of Wilmington. The Chiquita Voyager is a 728-foot long container ship hauling fruit from Central America.
Battalion Chief Eric Haley arrived to smoke showing from the superstructure of the ship. Firefighters boarded the ship to begin fire suppression and evacuation of the ship’s crew. Firefighters discovered a fire located in the engine room. A second alarm was transmitted bringing additional manpower and equipment to the scene to assist with fire suppression. After conferring with the ship’s captain and ship’s engineer, the onboard fire suppression system was activated containing the fire to the area of origin. It took firefighters approximately three hours to bring the incident under control. Fire department units remained on location for the remainder of the day to ensure that the suppression system totally extinguished the fire. After 24 hours, the engine room was opened and it was determined that the fire was completely extinguished.
Four ship’s crew members were injured and transported to the Christiana Hospital for treatment…