Firefighters battled a blaze involving hazardous materials on a container ship at the Port of Los Angeles, the nation’s busiest for maritime trade, before moving it a safer distance from shore.

Vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg indicate the ship, the One Henry Hudson, was towed from the port and is currently anchored outside the breakwater. 

When it was moored earlier, a water safety zone was established around the vessel and operations halted at four of the port’s seven container terminals, according to a Port of LA statement late on November 21. No injuries were reported, though fire officials for several hours recommended local residents stay indoors and close windows because of the smoke. That order was lifted on the morning of November 22.

The Los Angeles Fire Department earlier declared a “major emergency” and indicated the vessel is carrying hazardous cargo.

LAFD Captain Adam VanGerpen said the number of containers thought to have caught fire climbed to around 100 from an initial estimate of 40, and as of 7:15 a.m. the fire aboard the ship was still “very active,” he told KTLA.

More than 100 firefighters responded to the blaze, according to LA Mayor Karen Bass.

Sal Mercogliano, a maritime historian at Campbell University in North Carolina, streamed aerial footage of the incident and offered live commentary on YouTube. At about 6 a.m. November 22 Los Angeles time, he said the fire looked to be contained as firefighters used water cannons to cool the vessel’s hull. 

According to Bloomberg data, the Panama-flagged One Henry Hudson docked at the port on November 19 after previously stopping in Tokyo, Nagoya, Kobe and Singapore. It has capacity to carry about 8,200 containers measured in 20-foot units.

Container volumes through the Port of LA and neighboring Port of Long Beach have been volatile this year amid President Donald Trump’s threats of tariffs, front-loading of orders to avoid the import taxes, and a slowdown into the fourth quarter. 

But the flow of goods has remained steady, with little congestion or delays through facilities that handle about one-third of all U.S. seaborne imports.

According to officials who help direct traffic in San Pedro Bay, it was three years ago today that a bottleneck of ships waiting to dock at LA-Long Beach ended after peaking at 109 vessels in January 2022 because of pandemic disruptions.