Authorities in the United Arab Emirates said the blaze that broke out on a containership in Jebel Ali Port was brought under control within 44 minutes.

The success in preventing the incident from becoming a major catastrophe was attributed to years of pro-active planned preparation and investment in a world-class safety infrastructure.

Jebel Ali, Dubai’s main port, was rocked by an explosion on the 210-teu Ocean Trader (built 1993), operated by Dubai-based Inzu Ship Charter, at 12:23am local time on Thursday (20:23pm GMT on Wednesday).