Firefighters are still tackling a blaze on a Vietnamese container ship in the Malacca Straits, a Malaysian port official said Sunday.

"The fire is limited to the engine room. Fire fighters are unable to go in. They are spraying foam to cool down the heat," an officer with Malaysia's Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre told AFP .

The officer said two tug boats were assisting in fighting the fire. "They may take another 24 hours to put out the blaze. There is no oil leak. The cargo is safe."

The ship, located 15 miles off Port Dickson in the southern state of Negri Sembilan, was heading back to Vietnam when the fire broke out late Friday.

No threat to passing vessels

The officer said port authorities had urged the captain and the 24 Vietnamese crew of MV Phu Xuan to leave the ship and come ashore to rest but they have declined the offer.

The officer said the ship posed no threat to passing vessels in the busy but narrow Malacca Straits, which separates Malaysia and neighbouring Indonesia.

"But we have issued a general alert to ships in the vicinity," he added.

About 600 ships, including tankers, ply the Malacca Straits daily. — AFP