A Liberian-flagged bulk carrier, the M/V W Sapphire, suffered an explosion in its forward cargo hold on Monday evening while departing the Port of Baltimore for Port Louis, Mauritius. The blast occurred close to the site of the Francis Scott Key Bridge that collapsed last year, prompting an immediate response from U.S. Coast Guard cutters and local fire boats. Baltimore County Fire Department officials said the ensuing blaze was quickly contained and that no injuries have been reported among the crew. The vessel was fully laden with coal, according to port and maritime-tracking data. Authorities have begun an inquiry into the cause of the incident, which did not disrupt other traffic in the harbor. The Baltimore accident came hours after A.P. Moller-Maersk said a separate fire aboard its container ship Marie Maersk in the Atlantic Ocean off Liberia had been prevented from spreading. Maersk reported all crew safe and said external firefighters would board the vessel to reinforce its own team before the ship is towed to a port of refuge. While neither event has so far caused injuries or significant environmental damage, they underscore ongoing safety challenges in the global shipping industry as peak trans-Atlantic freight season approaches.