On February 18, 2025, about 0925 local time, the towing vessel Thor was pushing two barges downbound on the Delaware River, 1.5 miles downriver from New Castle, Delaware, when a fire broke out in the engine room. Four crewmembers isolated the fire to the engine room and subsequently abandoned ship to a nearby tug. The fire was extinguished by shoreside fire department response personnel, and the vessel was towed to port. There were no injuries, and no pollution was reported. Damage to the vessel was estimated at about $1.5 million.
We determined that the probable cause of the fire aboard the towing vessel Thor was an undetermined ignition source in the upper level of the vessel’s engine room.
