The 1000-foot Burns Harbor was towed back to a mooring area at Fincantieri/Bay Shipbuilding Tuesday morning after a fire broke out as the vessel was heading out to Lake Michigan. The ship’s crew, with support from the US Coast Guard and the Sturgeon Bay Fire Department, was able to extinguish the fire in the bow of the ship. The blaze appears to have been caused by some sort of electrical problem. Sturgeon Bay Fire Chief Tim Dietman says the Coast Guard responded with its 29-foot boat and crew, four Sturgeon Bay firefighters were sent to the vessel and several tugboats also responded. When it was clear the smoky fire was out, the decision was made to tow the large vessel, which was situated just beyond the Bay View Bridge, on the lake side, back to Bay Ship. Tugs, pulling the Burns Harbor from the rear, were able to move it to a mooring area after passing through all three of the city’s bridges. The initial call came in at about 8:15AM and the vessel was moving past the bridges shortly before noon.
