The Coast Guard and partner agencies have extinguished a fire on a scrap metal barge in Delaware Bay, officials confirmed on Thursday.
Thermal imaging confirmed the fire was out, according to Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay.
A marine salvage company hired by the barge's owner is developing a salvage plan, and partner agencies will continue to work to ensure public safety and protect the marine transportation system as the barge transits to port in Camden, N.J., the Coast Guard said.
The multi-agency response began at 8:20 a.m. Wednesday, Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay watchstanders received a call from the 114' Donjon Marine tug Douglas J reporting that the barge it was towing was on fire.
The 400'x105' deck barge, American Trader, was near Reedy Island in New Castle County, Del., when the blaze erupted. The fire spread plumes of black smoke that affected air quality as far north as Philadelphia.
The barge was moved to approximately 2 miles off Maurice River Cove, N.J., to remove the threat from the main ship channel, where firefighting efforts continued.
Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay established a safety zone and issued a Broadcast Notice to Mariners. No injuries were reported.
Local and state responders from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and the Coast Guard contributed assets and personnel to fight the fire and move the barge safely throughout the response.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Barge fires associated with scrap metal are enough of a hazard that the National Transportation Safety Board in 2023 advised that lithium-ion batteries and other possible ignition sources could pose a fire safety issue in the transportation of scrap materials as cargo.
Although scrap metal cargo is typically nonhazardous and poses a low fire risk, there have been several recent fires involving such cargo. In January 2022, a shoreside pile caught fire in Newark, N.J. In May 2022, the towing vessel Daisy Mae was towing a loaded scrap metal barge northbound in Delaware Bay when fire was discovered on board the barge. The fire burned for 26 hours before it was extinguished by responding fireboats.
