About 0745 on December 1, 2020, the fishing vessel Master Dylan was trawling for shrimp in the Gulf of Mexico when an explosion occurred in the engine room. Attempts to fight the subsequent fire from on board the vessel were unsuccessful, so the crew abandoned ship to a Good Samaritan vessel. The fire was eventually extinguished by other responding vessels, and the Master Dylan was taken under tow. However, during the tow, the stricken vessel ran aground, the fire re-flashed, and the vessel later sank. The vessel was a total constructive loss with an estimated value of at $300,000.
The probable cause of the engine room fire on board the Master Dylan was the catastrophic failure of a diesel generator. Contributing to the spread of the fire was the location of the fuel shutoff valves within the engine room, which prevented the crew from securing them.
