Nearly 200 firefighters responded [1] to a large fire aboard a cargo ship docked at the Port of Los Angeles on Friday night, after officials declared a major emergency.
All 23 crew members on board were evacuated without injury.
According to the Daily Breeze, the fire was first reported at approximately 6:38 p.m. local time.
Authorities said the blaze began as an electrical fire below deck while the ship was carrying hazardous cargo. By around 7 p.m., the fire had spread across several levels of the 1,102-foot vessel.
BREAKING: New exclusive video shows a large fire burning aboard the One Henry Hudson container ship at the Port of Los Angeles.
The vessel recently arrived from Tokyo. More than 100 LAFD firefighters — along with LA City and Long Beach fire boats — are attacking the blaze. Port… pic.twitter.com/h18SU75iiq [2]
— Matthew Seedorff (@MattSeedorff) November 22, 2025 [3]
Officials reported that the situation escalated when an explosion occurred in the mid-deck area as the fire continued to grow.
Fire crews worked to contain the blaze as smoke spread across nearby neighborhoods.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued a public notice advising communities near the port to remain indoors.
“A shelter in place order is in effect for communities surrounding the Port of Los Angeles, including San Pedro and Wilmington,” she said.
“Remain at home, keep windows closed and turn off HVAC systems. Emergency responders continue attacking the container ship fire.”
A shelter in place order is in effect for communities surrounding the Port of Los Angeles, including San Pedro and Wilmington.
Remain at home, keep windows closed and turn off HVAC systems.
Emergency responders continue attacking the container ship fire at @PortofLA [4].
— Mayor Karen Bass (@MayorOfLA) November 22, 2025 [5]
The Port of Los Angeles is recognized as the busiest port in North America.
The vessel involved in the incident, the One Henry Hudson, is operated by One Ocean Express, a Singapore-based shipping company.
Before arriving in Los Angeles, the ship had recently traveled through Japan, with stops in Kobe, Nagoya, and Tokyo.
A spokeswoman for Ocean Network Express confirmed the incident in a statement to the Daily Mail.
“Ocean Network Express (ONE) has been alerted to a fire onboard the 2008-built Panama-flagged container vessel, M/V ONE HENRY HUDSON,” she said.
“ONE can confirm that the vessel is time-chartered and all crew have been safely accounted for.”
The company said it is closely following developments.
“ONE is deeply concerned by this incident and is closely monitoring the situation. We thank first responders onsite and remain fully committed to supporting incident management and subsequent investigations,” the spokeswoman added.
Fire crews continued operations Friday night as officials monitored conditions on and around the vessel.
Authorities have not released additional details on the cause of the electrical fire or the specific hazardous materials on board.