Grimaldi’s Euroferry Olympia RoRo vessel reportedly went on fire last night.
The fire, the causes of which are still unknown, broke out last night aboard the Italian-flagged Euroferry Olympia RoRo ship connecting the Greek city of Igoumenitsa to Brindisi. It happened off the north coast of the island of Corfu, between Greece and Albania.
On board the ship there were 237 passengers and 51 crew members. The captain ordered the passengers to leave the ship and follow emergency procedures.
The ferry was in fact completely evacuated according to what was reported by sources of the Italian Coast Guard, which from the first moment of the accident was in contact with the Greek coast guard who coordinated the rescue. There are currently no injuries. Of the 288 people on board, 242 were rescued by a patrol boat of the Guardia di Finanza that was in the area. The fire would have broken out in one of the holds of the ship which mainly carried trucks and semi-trailers.
Company Statement:
“At 04:12 (local time) the Commander of the ship contacted the headquarters of the Group informing that the fire occured in garage No. 3. The ship’s crew immediately intervened to put out the fire with the on-board vehicles while the Commander and the Group staff, through the “emergency response team”, promptly notified the incident to the competent national and Greek authorities, and took all necessary measures to manage the accident in the best possible way.
For the safety of those present on board, the Captain has decided to abandon the ship. From the first information, the evacuated people were rescued by a unit of the Italian Guardia di Finanza and one of the Greek Coast Guard who were in the area. These units are on their way to the port of Corfu where the Group is organizing assistance for evacuees on the spot. On board the ship there were 239 passengers, of various nationalities, and 51 crew members (Italian and Greek). In addition, the ship carries 153 commercial vehicles (including trucks and semi-trailers), as well as 32 vehicles accompanying passengers.
There are no spills of fuel at sea nor would the stability of the ship appear to be compromised. Tugboats have been hired and are heading to Euroferry Olympia to give ready support and manage the emergency. The Euroferry Olympia ship flying the Italian flag (year of construction 1995), operated on the daily Brindisi-Igoumenitsa connection by Grimaldi Euromed SpA (a Grimaldi Group company), sailed from the port of Igoumenitsa at 01:20 (local time) today and it was scheduled to arrive in Brindisi this morning at 09:00. The top management of the Grimaldi Group expresses its regret for the accident and will give full cooperation to the competent authorities to shed light on the incident “.
