The officer of the watch and duty engineer initially thought the alarm was due to a fault with the fire detection system, and the vehicle deck water drenching system was not started until 20 minutes later.The fire developed in an unaccompanied curtain-sided refrigerated trailer that was carrying a load of potatoes. The trailer roof shielded the flames from the drenchers and the fire continued to burn. The trailers were tightly stowed; crew had great difficulty gaining access to the fire and were unable to extinguish it.Unprotected cables and pipework running above the fire were soon damaged in the high temperatures that were generated by the burning curtain-side and cargo packaging materials. The vessel lost power to forward mooring deck winches and bow thrusters, control of the rudders was disrupted and the port rudder suddenly moved hard to starboard. Loose cargo partially blocked the deck drains and drencher water caused Commodore Clipper to list. Drenching was stopped while water drained to prevent further risk to the vessel's stability, but each time it was stopped, the fire grew in intensity.
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