M/V NYK DELPHINUS fire; Offshore Monterey Bay, CA
NOAA initial notification: “On 14-MAY-2021, USCG Sector San Francisco contacted their NOAA SSC to report a shipboard fire on the M/V NYK DELPHINUS, approximately 60 miles west of Monterey Bay, CA. At the time, the vessel was without propulsion and drifting. Marine fire fighting activities were underway and […]”[1]
Latest included source report
Posted 17 May 2021
Latest source report
“News Release U.S. Coast Guard 11th District Pacific Southwest Contact: 11th District Public Affairs Office: (510) 437-3325 After Hours: (510) 772-8865 11th District online newsroom Update: Unified Command begins transit of ship to Port of Oakland SAN FRANCISCO — The Unified Command is coordinating the safe transit of a container ship 80 miles southwest of Big Sur to the Port […]” Current outcome is not independently verified by seahazards.[4]
NOAA report chronology
4 dated source records · 14 May 2021 to 17 May 2021NOAA incident record opened
Initial notification excerpt: “On 14-MAY-2021, USCG Sector San Francisco contacted their NOAA SSC to report a shipboard fire on the M/V NYK DELPHINUS, approximately 60 miles west of Monterey Bay, CA. At the time, the vessel was without propulsion and drifting. Marine fire fighting activities were underway and USCG was focused on search & rescue operations. No pollution has been reported, but it is unclear if fire fighting activities on board the ship were successful. USCG later requested a hypothetical trajectory estimate for roughly 800,000 gallons of mixed fuels in the event the incident devolves.”
NOAA approximate incident area; not a vessel track
Initial incident area only. Dates are NOAA postings, not a vessel track. Playback advances every 5 seconds.
Milestone 1 of 4: 14 May 2021. NOAA incident record opened. NOAA approximate incident area; not a vessel track
NOAA incident record opened
Initial notification excerpt: “On 14-MAY-2021, USCG Sector San Francisco contacted their NOAA SSC to report a shipboard fire on the M/V NYK DELPHINUS, approximately 60 miles west of Monterey Bay, CA. At the time, the vessel was without propulsion and drifting. Marine fire fighting activities were underway and USCG was focused on search & rescue operations. No pollution has been reported, but it is unclear if fire fighting activities on board the ship were successful. USCG later requested a hypothetical trajectory estimate for roughly 800,000 gallons of mixed fuels in the event the incident devolves.”
NOAA approximate incident area; not a vessel track (36.377°, -122.900°)
USCG Press Release
Source report excerpt: “News Release U.S. Coast Guard 11th District Pacific Southwest Contact: 11th District Public Affairs Office: (510) 437-3325 After Hours: (510) 772-8865 11th District online newsroom Unified Command responds to container ship off coast of Monterey Editor's Note: Click on images above to download full-resolution versions. SAN FRANCISCO — A Unified Command consisting of the Coast Guard, the State of California, and Resolve Marine is responding to a fire aboard a container ship approximately 50 miles west off the coast of Monterey. The motor vessel NYK Delphinus contacted Coast Guard Sector San Francisco watchstanders at approximately 4:54 a.m., reporting an engine fire aboard the ship. There […]”
USCG Press Release, 15-MAY-2021
Source report excerpt: “News Release U.S. Coast Guard 11th District Pacific Southwest Contact: 11th District Public Affairs Office: (510) 437-3325 After Hours: (510) 772-8865 11th District online newsroom Update: Unified Command continues response to container ship fire west of Big Sur Editor's Note: Click on images above to download full-resolution version. SAN FRANCISCO — The Unified Command continues to respond to the fire aboard a container ship approximately 80 miles southwest of Big Sur, Saturday. The crew of the container ship NYK Delphinus reported the engine room has seen a steady decline in temperature through Saturday morning. Smoke is no longer visible and the crew reports the fire is contained. […]”
USCG Press Release, 16-MAY-2021
Source report excerpt: “News Release U.S. Coast Guard 11th District Pacific Southwest Contact: 11th District Public Affairs Office: (510) 437-3325 After Hours: (510) 772-8865 11th District online newsroom Update: Unified Command begins transit of ship to Port of Oakland SAN FRANCISCO — The Unified Command is coordinating the safe transit of a container ship 80 miles southwest of Big Sur to the Port of Oakland, Sunday. The NYK Delphinus crew reported a continuous decrease in the temperature of the engine room’s surrounding bulkheads Sunday morning. No signs of smoke have been observed and all decks above the engine room are now accessible and have been fully ventilated. The tugboat Delta Deanna began actively […]”
Share or embed this incident
Add a dated incident card to your article or website. It links readers to the complete timeline and original sources. The card contains no ads or tracking scripts.
Card preview
Open card ↗The card follows the automatically assembled NOAA timeline. Dates identify source postings, not necessarily event times; the latest report is not a verified outcome. Your publishing platform must support iframe embeds.
Details in the record
- Source record
- NOAA IncidentNews 10281[1]
Reading this account
Automatically assembled from NOAA's incident record and substantive Public Affairs or Situation Update posts. Dates are NOAA posting dates, which can differ from when events happened or original reports were published. Excerpts retain the source's wording and uncertainty. This account does not independently establish the cause, current outcome or safety of the area. NOAA coverage is selective; missing updates do not mean nothing happened. The map shows one approximate incident area, not a vessel track.
These are excerpts from the source, not independently verified conclusions. Publication order can differ from the sequence of events. Follow the source links for the complete reports.
Original sources
Timeline updated 6 Sept 2026. New reports and changes to this NOAA incident are incorporated automatically; this is not a live incident feed.
- 1.M/V NYK DELPHINUS fire; Offshore Monterey Bay, CA ↗NOAA Office of Response and Restoration · 14 May 2021
- 2.USCG Press Release ↗NOAA IncidentNews · source report archive · 14 May 2021
- 3.USCG Press Release, 15-MAY-2021 ↗NOAA IncidentNews · source report archive · 17 May 2021
- 4.USCG Press Release, 16-MAY-2021 ↗NOAA IncidentNews · source report archive · 17 May 2021
Related records in our archive
Original source text, preserved separately from this account.
NOAAORR-10281 NOAA response record
M/V NYK DELPHINUS fire; Offshore Monterey Bay, CA. Offshore Monterey Bay, CA. 1. On 14-MAY-2021, USCG Sector San Francisco contacted their NOAA SSC to report a shipboard fire on the M/V NYK DELPHINUS, approximately 60 miles west of Monterey Bay, CA. At the time, the vessel was without propulsion and drifting. Marine fire fighting activities were underway and USCG was focused on search & rescue operations. No pollution has been reported, but it is unclear if fire fighting activities on board the ship were successful. USCG later requested a hypothetical trajectory estimate for roughly 800,000 gallons of mixed fuels in the event the incident devolves. 2. THREAT: OIL. COMMODITY: MIXED FUELS. MAXIMUM POTENTIAL RELEASE: 800000 GALLONS. 3. POSITION 36.377N 122.900W. NOAA INCIDENTNEWS 10281: https://incidentnews.noaa.gov/incident/10281Open record and warning history →
Follow another incident
Not for navigation. Follow official NAVAREA broadcasts and your national MSI service. About our sources.