A HUGE explosion has reportedly ripped through a 500ft container ship in the North Sea.
The Dutch vessel Victoria L was seen up in flames following the blast with an emergency rescue mission now underway, according to local media.
At least 19 crew members were on board the ship when officials were first alerted to the fire at around 1pm, HLN media reports.
The ship was travelling through the Hoek van Holland, near to Rotterdam at the time.
It was travelling from Hamburg in Germany to the port of Rotterdam.
No injures have been reported yet.
Several ships rushed to the scene to help with the rescue mission along with two helicopters with emergency services on site.
Initially, the crew attempted to put out the fire themselves, but a second explosion occurred, leading the Dutch coastguard to dispatch additional support vessels.
It is not immediately clear what caused the explosion with investigations ongoing.
The Victoria L, built in 2009, sails under the flag of Liberia.
It is a huge 528ft long and 91ft wide.
Ship tracking data shows the Victoria L was scheduled to arrive in Rotterdam at around 2pm local time this afternoon.
This recent incident in the North Sea took place within a month of the collision between the Portuguese-registered container ship Solong and the US tanker Stena Immaculate on March 10.
Horror footage caught the moment a missing crewman was caught in a fireball explosion as two vessels crashed off the coast of East Yorkshire.
A total of 36 people were rescued from the ships following the incident.
Following the incident, the captain of the Solong, 59-year-old Vladimir Motin from St. Petersburg, Russia, faced charges of gross negligence manslaughter. He appeared in court at Hull Magistrates’ Court and London’s Old Bailey and has been detained in custody.
He is due to stand trial in January 2026.
