Grimaldi Conro Drifting in the English Channel After Fire is Extinguished
Rescue teams from France, the Netherlands, and the UK cooperated to respond to a distress call this morning, February 18, from a Grimaldi vessel southbound in the English Channel. The vessel is still reporting that it is drifting while a tug and other resources are standing by after a fire was extinguished.
The Grande Brasile (26,000 dwt) issued a distress at 0935 the UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency reports. The vessel told the authorities that there was a fire aboard, and it was later reporting no propulsion or steering capabilities.
Built in 2000, the Malta-registered ship is a Conro, a unique combination of containership and RoRo, favored by Grimaldi. The Italian shipping firm is one of the few that continues to operate this type of vessel and the company recently built more ships of this style in China.
The UK MCA called the RNLI asking for lifeboats to be deployed. The stations in Dover and Ramsgate each launched and reached the Grande Brasile which was reported to be approximately 15 nautical miles from Ramsgate, England. The vessel was southbound in the Dover Strait traveling from Antwerp, Belgium to Le Havre, France when the fire occurred.
By the time the lifeboats reached the vessel, the ship reported its crew of 28 was all accounted for and there were no injuries. They reported the fire had been contained to one deck and the onboard fire suppression system had been used.
The lifeboat crews reported they did not have to board the vessel and were later given permission to stand down returning to station. The Dutch Coast Guard also dispatched one of its surveillance aircraft to monitor the situation.
The French rescue vessel Abeille Normandie is reported to be standing by the disabled cargo ship. The Dutch Multratug 35 has also arrived on scene.
Another Grimaldi Conro, Grande Costa d’Avorio, made headlines in July 2023 when a fire broke out while it was loading Port Newark, New Jersey. Two local firefighters were killed aboard the vessel and the fire burned for days destroying the garage section of the vessel. The U.S. Coast Guard has been leading the investigation focusing on a pusher vehicle being used to position cars being loaded on the Grimaldi vessel for causing the devastating fire. It also prompted the National Transportation Safety Board to issue an alert on the dangers of shipping used cars. The vessel was reconditioned for a return to service while a final report on the fire is still pending.
Top photo by Huhu Uet of Grande Brasile in 2013 - CC BY-SA 3.0