Engine Fire on Container Vessel Off El Capitan Beach

By edhat staff

A large container vessel suffered an engine fire early Wednesday morning off the coast of El Capitan Beach.

The U.S. Coast Guard stated just before 6:00 a.m. they were responding to a fire aboard the President Eisenhower, a 965-foot motor vessel, 24 miles off the coast of Santa Barbara.

The vessel was en route from the Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor and suffered an engine fire at some point overnight and was adrift, being visible from El Capitan State Beach in the Santa Barbara Channel. 

The fire was extinguished, there was no pollution, and no injuries were reported, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. A civilian towing contractor is towing the vessel to safety.