Vehicle Carrier Grande Europa Hit By Fire in Mediterranean

Photo: Salvamento Maritimo

Another Grimaldi Lines vehicle carrier has been hit by a major fire.

Authorities in Spain reported Wednesday that they were called to assist the Grimaldi Lines car carrier Grande Europe which had suffered a fire approximately 25 miles south of Palma de Mallorca in the Mediterranean.

Fifteen crewmembers have been evacuated from the ship by helicopter, while three vessels were helping fight the fire.

An update from Salvamento Maritimo said the fire onboard has been brought under control and the ship is now under tow to the Palma Bay by the emergency response vessel Marta Mata.

AIS ship tracking data shows the 1998-built Grande Europa is on a voyage from Salerno, Italy to Valencia, Spain. The ship is flagged in Italy.

15 tripulantes del buque Car Carrier #GrandeEuropa evacuados en buen estado por el helicóptero Helimer 205 (25 millas al Sur de Palma) tras sufrir un incendio a bordo, prácticamente extinguido por 3 embarcaciones de @salvamentogob y por el sistema contraincendios del buque pic.twitter.com/a8BarSxgjQ

— SALVAMENTO MARÍTIMO (@salvamentogob) May 15, 2019

The incident follows a fire in March aboard the Grimaldi Lines roll-on/roll-off containership Grande America in the Bay of Biscay, which resulted in the ship’s sinking. All 27 crew members on board were able to abandon ship and later rescued by a British Royal Navy ship. Grimaldi eventually confirmed that the fire started in a container loaded on the deck of the ship.

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