A fire broke out yesterday on board the 1,500-dwt general cargo ship Pluto Island (built 1988).

The vessel issued a distress call when it was 30 nautical miles southeast of Seogwipo on Cheju Island. The vessel was on a voyage from Hakata in Japan to Ningbo in China with a cargo of scrap, described as being mostly used appliances.

South Korean rescue service evacuated the ship’s crew of nine.

Fire-fighting