Italian Coast Guard Responds to Fire on Oil Platform in the Adriatic
The Italian Coast Guard has overseen a successful response to a fire aboard Rospo Mare B, an oil platform off the coast of Vasto on Italy's Adriatic coast. The fire was swiftly extinguished and all workers safely evacuated from the facility.
After the fire was reported, the patrol boat CP878 was dispatched to the scene from Termoli, carrying a firefighting team. The commercial supply boat Shark responded and helped evacuate 26 people from the platform and neighboring facilities (as a precautionary measure).
A second patrol boat, a fixed-wing aircraft and a coast guard helicopter kept watch for signs of environmental pollution. None was observed, but the Coast Guard will continue to monitor with satellite imaging assistance from EMSA.
Nelle ???? dell’aereo Manta ?? #GuardiaCostiera le operazioni svolte ieri per l’incendio sulla piattaforma petrolifera Rospomare B. Terminate già ieri le operazioni di estinzione dell’incendio, prosegue l’attività di monitoraggio ambientale
— Guardia Costiera (@guardiacostiera) January 23, 2025
????nessuna traccia di inquinamento in mare pic.twitter.com/83iBX6OSD4
All evacuees were in good health, and the fire was contained quickly, Captain of the Port Cmdr. Giuseppe Panico told Termoli Online. The platform's fixed firefighting system worked very well, he said, augmented by other capabilities that were deployed to the scene.
Panico credited the preparedness of the platform operator, the coast guard and their partners for the rapid response and successful outcome. Rospo Mare B had recently played a part in a full-scale emergency response training with the coast guard, and this helped prepare for the real thing, he said.
Rospo Mare B is the main production platform at Energean's Rospo Mare field, and performs the oil treatment for all of the field's output before it is transferred to an FPSO. It has been in operation since 1982.