Another Grimaldi fire, this time in the English Channel. The container and vehicle carrier Grande Brasile broadcast a distress call yesterday (18 February) just after 0930, local time (GMT). The ship was in transit through the Strait of Dover, the world’s busiest shipping lane. The ship now has tugs in attendance. The Grimaldi line has been plagued by several vessel fires in recent years.
The twenty-five-year-old vessel Grande Brasile was on a short sea run from Antwerp in Belgium to Le Harve in northwest France. It’s understood that the vessel got into difficulties about twelve miles (19.2km) off Ramsgate in Kent, England. A multi-national rescue response was mobilised. It’s understood that there were no casualties on board, and the fire was contained within the ship. Insurers have already stated that they expect extensive damage to cargo on board, which was a consist of cars and containers.
Stood down
Three countries scrambled rescue services in response to the Grade Brasile distress call. Ships and aircraft for the UK, the Netherlands and France responded. The UK’s Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) launched its fast response lifeboats to rendezvous with the ship within thirty minutes of the distress call. A spokesperson later told local media that the rescue response was soon stood down, once the safety of the crew had been confirmed. However, a further fire broke out later, as detailed in a statement from Grimaldi (below).
There would appear to have been fears that the fire would be more significant than eventually transpired. A Dutch aircraft, along with a tug boat and a French firefighting vessel, were all mobilised. British Coastguard sources later reported that the fire had been contained to one deck of the vessel. The Grande Brasile is a 214m-long conro, with a container capacity of 1300 TEU.
Full statement
Responding to WorldCargo News, Grimaldi issued the following statement:
“Grimaldi Deep Sea (a Grimaldi Group company), operator of the con/ro vessel Grande Brasile (IMO: 9198123) reports that the ship suffered a fire on one of its decks yesterday morning at 12 nautical miles south of Ramsgate (UK).
All competent authorities were immediately informed and the crew activated on-board fire-suppression measures successfully containing the fire. Meanwhile, two tugboats were dispatched to assist and secure the vessel with lines.
At approximately 16.25 hours [local time – GMT] the crew informed the authorities that a second fire had broken out on another deck of the vessel. For safety, the 28-member crew was evacuated onto the vessel’s lifeboat at 20.00 hours (LT), picked up by an assisting tugboat and taken to Ramsgate where it was met by the local First Aid Services. All crew members are safe and no injuries have been reported.
During the operation, His Majesty’s Coastguard Rescue Teams, Kent Fire and Rescue Service and the UK Border Force were in attendance. Additionally, an HM Coastguard helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft were sent as well as a Belgium Coast Guard helicopter and the RNLI’s (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) all-weather lifeboats from Dover and Ramsgate.
At present, tugboat operations are underway with their fire hoses being used for boundary cooling to contain and limit the fire. Smit Salvage are expected to arrive on-site around midday to board the vessel. No fuel spill has been detected at sea, nor does the ship’s stability appear to be compromised.
The Malta-flagged Grande Brasile was on route from Antwerp to Le Havre, carrying a mix of rolling cargo (cars, vans, trucks), containers and unitised cargo destined for various West African ports.
Grimaldi Deep Sea wishes to express its gratitude and acknowledge the swift and professional response of the British and Belgian authorities to this incident. At this time, the cause of the fire remains unknown, but the Company will conduct a full investigation in close cooperation with all relevant authorities.”
Other fires
Grimaldi vessels have suffered an unfortunate series of fires over the past few years. Most spectacularly, the similar vessel, Grande America sank in the Bay of Biscay in March 2019, after catching fire off the French coast while on route from Hamburg to Casablanca. The ship was carrying a cargo of luxury motor cars from German manufacturers. More recently, in 2023, a fatal blaze broke out on board the Grande Costa D’Avorio in the Port of Newark, New Jersey. The previous year, another fatal fire broke out on the RoRo vessel Euroferry Olympia while at sea off Corfu, Greece.
The company was, only in December, celebrating the launch of a new vessel in the Far East, as covered by WCN. In September it expanded its Mediterranean service network with a new cargo route between Italy and Turkey. The Naples headquartered business, entirely owned by the Grimaldi family, was founded in 1947 and has grown into a multinational integrated logistics company