The fishing trawler Desert Rose caught fire at the dock in Lyttelton, New Zealand. The fire started from short circuit in the ice generator and extended to the aft deck. The crew tried firefighting, but the thick smoke caused smoke inhalation to six of the seamen on board. At the scene of the accident were dispatched 14 firefighting brigades from the shore, which needed of several hours to completely extinguish the flames and get full control of the fire. The fishing trawler Desert Rose suffered sufficient damages during the fire, but remained seaworthy and afloat.

The smoke inhaled people from the crew were transported to the hospital for medical treatment, but without life-threatening injuries. The rest of the crew did not suffered any injuries. The local authorities started investigation for the root cause of the accident. The further assessment will estimate the extend of the damages of the fishing trawler. There is no information about water pollution, but the vessel is surrounded by oil booms in case of spill.

The fishing factory trawler Desert Rose (IMO: 8729688) has overall length of 104.00 m, moulded beam of 16.00 m and maximum draft of 6.00 m. The deadweight of the vessel is 1,810 DWT and the gross tonnage is 4,407 GRT. The ship was built in 1989 by Black Sea Shipyard in Nikolayev, Ukraine. The vessel is owned and operated by Erongo Sea Products.