On September 20, 2020, about 1718 local time, smoke was reported on board US Coast Guard Cutter Waesche, located about 770 nautical miles east of Tokyo, Japan. A fire originated in an exhaust stack and spread to the engine room before being extinguished. The Coast Guard is trying to determine why a bolt may have back out of a diesel fuel component.
Our initial investigation of this accident did not identify significant transportation safety issues. We have determined that additional investigation and utilization of resources is not warranted at this time. We have produced an investigation close-out memorandum.
