Fire Breaks Out Aboard Ro/Pax Ferry at Port of Naples
Firefighters at the port of Naples, Italy have successfully controlled a blaze that broke out yesterday aboard a moored ferry near the city's famous Piazza Mercato.
The incident occurred aboard the ferry GNV Phoenix, a ro/pax ferry that was moored at La Nuova Meccanica Navale for maintenance work. The blaze broke out on the seventh deck at about 1845 hours on Wednesday evening. All 85 people who were aboard the ship at the time of the fire evacuated safely, and there were no injuries reported.
#Napoli, proseguono le operazioni dei #vigilidelfuoco per l’incendio su una motonave ormeggiata tra le banchine 29 e 30 del porto. Squadre al lavoro da terra e da mare, in corso la bonifica [#28maggio 7:30] pic.twitter.com/uM0P71lCAY
— Vigili del Fuoco (@vigilidelfuoco) May 28, 2026
Firefighting work continued through the night, aided from the waterside by one fireboat and three tugs and from shore by the Vigili del Fuoco, Italy's national fire department. As a precautionary measure, the city of Naples' health authority issued a shelter-in-place order, recommending against going outside or using ventilation systems. So far, air quality readings suggest no issues, according to regional environmental agency ARPAC.
Firefighters worked through into Thursday morning and finally got the blaze under control, preventing it from spreading through the ship. Decontamination work was under way as of Thursday morning, according to Vigili del Fuoco.
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The port of Naples has remained continuously open to marine traffic, with the exception of Piers 29 and 30, where firefighting operations were under way.
GNV Phoenix (ex name Athara) is a 23-year-old ro/pax ferry, and was previously owned by Tirrenia. She trades domestically and has no history of overseas port state control inspections.