SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A 120-foot ship docked near Seaport Village caught fire this morning, sending thick plumes of dark gray smoke billowing into the skies above San Diego Bay.
The blaze aboard the Norton Sound erupted for unknown reasons about 9:30 a.m., according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.
It wasn't immediately clear if anyone was aboard the burning vessel docked at the G Street Mole, though crews fighting the intense fire requested an ambulance, SDFRD spokeswoman Monica Munoz said.
A 911 caller reported seeing no one aboard the vessel.
A city firefighting helicopter was launched to help battle the flames, and the San Diego Harbor Police and U.S. Coast Guard also responded to the scene.
Crews were still working to extinguish the blaze shortly after 11:30 a.m., Munoz said.
``The difficulty is there are many small, confined spaces on a ship, as you'd imagine,'' Munoz told 10News.
FleetMon, a global ship database, lists the Norton Sound as a research vessel, while firefighters described it as a fishing trawler.