A Canadian ship docked on the NSW south coast is still burning as firefighters work "tirelessly" to extinguish the final flames more than a day after the iron-ore carrier caught fire.

All crew on board the Iron Chieftain escaped unharmed when the fire ignited in the cargo hold as dolomite was being unloaded on a conveyor belt at Port Kembla Harbour on Monday morning.

"Firefighters worked tirelessly throughout the night," Fire & Rescue NSW said in a statement on Tuesday.

The fire on the outer deck was extinguished on Monday, but efforts have since turned to sections in the cargo hold where an active fire still burns.

"Firefighters continue to attack this fire through hatches on the deck and hose lines have been repositioned," Fire & Rescue NSW said.

The fire is being monitored with a laser thermometer and is expected to continue throughout Tuesday with about 80 firefighters on hand.</s>SYDNEY - A fire in the hold of a bulker ship on Monday briefly closed Australia's Port Kembla, the second-largest coal export port in New South Wales state, stopping shipping for eight hours.

The port was shut soon after the blaze began before dawn on the MV Iron Chieftain as it unloaded dolomite, a mineral used in steelmaking which was destined for BlueScope Steel Ltd's nearby blast furnace. No injuries were reported.

"Shipping recommenced and the port reopened at 1130 and is expected to be back on schedule by around 1700," harbour master Kell Dillon said in an emailed statement.

More than 100 firefighters were working to put fire out, a job likely to take all day, a spokesman for Fire and Rescue New South Wales told Reuters. Pictures showed water being sprayed from tugboats and fire engines into the ship's hold.

BlueScope Steel said in an emailed statement that the blaze would have no impact on its steelmaking and none of its port equipment was damaged.

The port, also the state's largest vehicle import gateway, counts among its customers nearby coal mines run by BHP spinoff South32, which said its exports were unaffected.

The ship's owner, CSL Australia, said damage to the vessel was not immediately clear.

Thomson Reuters Eikon data showed eight vessels at anchor in the port, mostly bulk carriers and roll-on, roll-off vehicle ships.
Canadian ship MV Iron Chieftain burns for a second day off the coast of New South Wales, Australia. The freighter, carrying dolomite, was partially extinguished yesterday, but fire remains in the hold.