A fire at Tata Steel’s Port Talbot steelworks in Wales has damaged a pickle line and disrupted downstream operations, prompting the company to activate contingency measures to maintain customer supply.
The fire broke out on the evening of June 4 in a building housing the cold mill and pickle line. All personnel were safely evacuated and no injuries were reported. More than 100 firefighters and 31 fire engines were deployed to tackle the blaze, which was brought under control after more than 36 hours.
According to Tata Steel, the fire was confined to a specific area of the facility, although local reports indicated that part of the roof structure collapsed. The company said the incident was unrelated to the controlled demolition of an unused gas holder that took place earlier the same day.
The hot strip mill was temporarily taken offline as a precaution following the incident but was not affected by the fire. Tata Steel said production at the mill is expected to resume by the middle of next week.
The company is currently carrying out a full assessment of the affected area to determine the extent of the damage and the potential impact on operations. To minimize disruption, Tata Steel has implemented mitigation measures, including transferring some processing activities to its Llanwern cold mill and pickle line facility.
Tata Steel UK is a subsidiary of Tata Steel Group, which has an annual crude steelmaking capacity of around 34 mln tons. The company is currently transitioning Port Talbot to electric arc furnace-based steelmaking, with a new 3.2 mln tons per year EAF expected to start operations in 2028.