Liberia: Fire at Buchanan Port Leaves One Injured

A devastating fire accident at the Port of Buchanan in Grand Bassa County has left a boat in ruins and one person seriously injured.

The boat, severely damaged in the blaze, was loaded with petroleum products scheduled for Maryland County in the Southeast. The economic impact of the accident, which yesterday halted work at the country's second-largest port, is currently unknown. 

The fire, according to eyewitnesses, started when the captain of the blazed boat attempted some repair work, which went wrong, sending plumes of thick, black smoke billowing into the sky — raging for several hours before being brought under control by the port firefighters with assistance from ArcelorMittal Liberia.

The Port of Buchanan is crucial to Liberia’s economy, serving as a primary conduit for the export of iron ore, timber, and other valuable commodities, contributing significantly to the nation’s revenue stream. As a result, any interruption in its operations, even temporarily, could have far-reaching economic repercussions at the very least.

Eyewitnesses explained that if the firefighters’ response to the blaze, which started around 4:55 PM on Sunday, had not been swift, the damage would have been extensive, not only to the boat, which contained a significant amount of petroleum products, but also to the port's infrastructure.

The injured individual, Stephen Mensah, who is the boat’s chief engineer, suffered significant burns to his body, rendering his condition critical. Mensah, however, was transported to the Liberian Government Hospital for treatment as he sustained severe burns all over his body.

While the blaze from the boat was significant and took time to be contained, it did not impact the port’s main facilities due to the quick response by the firefighters. When fire trucks tried in vain to water down the fire, it took other boats that sailed in from elsewhere, pumping water from the harbor to subdue the fire well into the night. 

According to fire experts, petroleum fires, also known as class B fires, can be extinguished by foam, powder or carbon dioxide extinguishers — not water. Water contains oxygen and therefore will add to this kind of fire instead of subduing it. This explains why it took firefighters so long to control the fire in spite of the abundance of water at their disposal.

The Port of Buchanan was constructed by the Liberia-American Swedish Mining Corporation (LAMCO) in the 1960s, a joint venture company established to export iron ore deposits from the Nimba Range.

It is located 272 kilometers southeast of Monrovia and is Liberia's second-largest seaport. The harbor is protected by two breakwaters, 1,890 meters and 590 meters long. Inside the basin, a 225-meter-long ore loading quay is located adjacent to the commercial loading quay, providing a water depth of 10.5 meters below the chart datum. Adjacent to the loading quay is another waiting berth for ore carriers.

On the inner side of the secondary breakwater is a commercial quay, 334 meters long, with an available water depth of 9.5 meters below the chart datum. The access channel to the Port provides ships with a water depth of 11.5 meters below the chart datum and a channel width between the breakwaters of 210 meters.

As a leading maritime nation, Liberia is expected to have international standard port safety measures in place. In this instance, the Port of Buchanan may have been caught off guard. 

Given the intensity of Sunday’s fire, though it appears to have destroyed one or two boats, may require repair or reconditioning of certain parts of the port. Whatever the case, port authorities have yet to issue an official statement in response to the fire outbreak.