Passengers evacuate ferry after engine room fire off Palma

Spanish rescue authorities oversee evacuation of 350 passengers from Italian ferry Tenacity After a fire in the engine room crippled the ferry as it approached Palma de Mallorca on Thursday night, no one was injured and the fire was contained to the engine room, but the ship was crippled and drifted in the Mediterranean.

The fire alarm sounded at around 02:30 this morning local time, when the ship was 22 miles from Ibiza and about 53 miles from Dragonera, in the Balearic Islands. Salvamento Marítimo reports that there are 350 passengers and 61 crew members on board the ferry.

Firefighters and rescuers responded to calls from the ship, and nine firefighters from shore units were evacuated by helicopter to join the ship’s crew in battling the blaze. Passengers posted videos and photos online, sitting in their life jackets at muster stations.

The ferry, built in 2008 and operated by Italian company GNV, left Valencia, Spain, on Sunday evening, July 7 at 22:30 local time, for an overnight trip to the popular tourist destination. Boarding was scheduled for 05:15 this morning. The ferry, which weighs 26,000 gross tons, is a RoRo that can accommodate up to 900 passengers.

Salvamento Marítimo asked ships in the area to intervene and two ships from the MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company were ready to intervene. The only other passenger ship in the area was the Balearia Abel Matutes which was also en route with passengers and diverted to standby in case an evacuation was necessary Tenacity.

Maritime rescue and the DGMM continue their operations in the passenger convoy that burned 53 miles west of the Dragonera with 350 passengers and 61 tripulant passengers. The fire that went out in the engine room has been extinguished and the passage is in good condition pic.twitter.com/1IKcJD5xCu

— MARITIME RESCUE (@salvamentogob) July 8, 2024

Firefighting crews and equipment are airlifted to the stranded ferry

By mid-morning, firefighting crews reported the fire was contained, but they had not declared it out. Hot spots remained in the ship’s engine room. Tenacity They then decided to evacuate the passengers for their safety and comfort.

Salvamento Marítimo’s rescue boats were used to transfer the passengers as the ship continued to drift at sea. They were transferred to another of the company’s ferry, the GNV Bridge (32,581 gross tons), which diverted to assist its counterpart in the fleet. GNV announced that the passengers will be returned to the port of origin.

Firefighting efforts are continuing in an attempt to cool the ferry’s engine room. GNV reports that a private salvage tug has also been secured to tow the ferry to Valencia when it is deemed safe.