Grimaldi Conro Evacuated in English Channel After Second Fire is Reported

Rescue teams from the UK assisted by the French, Dutch, and Belgians responded to a second fire aboard the Grimaldi conro Grande Brasile late on Tuesday after a previous fire had been reported under control. According to a spokesperson for Grimaldi Deep Sea, the vessel’s operator, the 28-member crew was removed from the vessel for their safety while salvage teams are joining the effort.

The first reports of a fire aboard the vessel which was sailing from Antwerp, Belgium to Le Havre, France were issued at approximately 0935 (local time) on Tuesday, February 18. The UK’s Coastguard dispatched lifeboats from the RNLI in Ramsgate and Dover. After using the vessel’s fire suppression system, the first fire was reported extinguished and the lifeboats were released.

The vessel which was built in 2000 and is registered in Malta was reportedly repositioned approximately 12 nautical miles off Ramsgate in southeast UK. A salvage tug Multratug 35 was standing by the vessel along with the French Coast Guard’s rescue vessel Abeille Normandie.

“At approximately 1625 hours (LT) the crew informed the authorities that a second fire had broken out on another deck of the vessel,” said the Grimaldi spokesperson. At approximately 2000 it was determined that the crew should leave the vessel and they boarded the vessel’s lifeboat. They were transferred to one of the assisting tugs and later taken to shore by the Ramsgate lifeboat according to HM Coast Guard. No injuries were reported to the crew.

 

Thermal image appears to show the fire spreading in the RoRo cargo area while boundary cooling is underway (Kustwacht)

 

Grimaldi reports the situation continues to evolve. Currently, `tugs are providing boundary cooling to contain and limit the fire. The Belgian Coast Guard and Netherlands Coast Guard are also monitoring the situation. The Dutch report that Multratug 36 and Kamara have also arrived on scene. Smit Salvage has been retained by Grimaldi and was expected to reach the vessel as of midday Wednesday.

Images supplied by the Netherlands Coast Guard show the fire burning in the RoRo cargo area of the vessel. The dangers of transporting vehicles, and specifically older, second-hand vehicles has been the topic of frequent discussions by insurers and other authorities. Eclectic vehicles are also considered to be a high danger in transport. In 2019, Grimaldi experienced fire on two of its vessels, Grande America and Grande Europa, leading to calls for increased fire safety. These fires lead to new regulations about handling hazardous materials. A fire also broke out on a third Grimaldi vessel in 2021 while it was loading in Port Newark, New Jersey and that incident killed two local firefighters who had boarded the ship. The investigation is focusing on a "pusher" car used to position vehicles being loaded on the Grande Costa D’Avorio.

The vessel is loaded with a mix of rolling cargo (cars, vans, trucks), containers, and cargo destined for various West Africa ports. Grimaldi reports at this time the cause of the fire remains unknown but it will conduct a full investigation in cooperation with the relevant authorities.