Efforts to extinguish a fire aboard a Korean fishing vessel in Cape Town Harbour have been suspended until an engineer determines whether it is safe to continue.

The boat has been burning since 2am on Saturday morning but “listing” – caused by water collecting on one side of the vessel making it tilt – has made it unsafe for firefighters to continue putting out the blaze.

Disaster Risk Management spokesman for the city of Cape Town‚ Theo Layne‚ said that a naval architect had been deployed to assess the situation.

“The engineer is determining the stability of the vessel since it is still listing” said Layne.

“There is a lot of water on one side of the vessel and there is a concern over the safety of the firefighters.”

Although the fire had spread to the back of the vessel‚ it was said to be under control.

The cause of the fire has not been determined‚ but Layne said that materials such as cardboard and plastic onboard the vessel were fueling the blaze.

No injuries or fatalities were reported and the National Ports Authority said that the incident had no impact on shipping in the harbour.