Firefighters die tackling ship blaze
Two firefighters have died and several more have been injured while battling a blaze on a roll-on, roll-off car carrier in Newark, New Jersey.
The fire broke out in five to seven floors of the Grande Costa D’Avorio. The vessel, which is owned by the Grimaldi Group, had 1,200 new and used vehicles and 157 containers on-board.
The fire began as stevedores moved cargo off the ship. Grimaldi says there were no electric cars or hazardous cargo on-board, nor was it spilling fuel or in danger of sinking.
In a statement, the company says the ship had about 28 crew members, who activated on-board fire-suppression systems. The local firefighting service was alerted.
It’s not yet known how the fire started but the company, which is based in Naples, Italy, plans to launch a full investigation into July 6’s incident.
In March 2019, Grimaldi’s Grande America, a container roll-on roll-off, caught fire and sank off the western coast of France while sailing from Hamburg to Casablanca in Morocco. Last year, its ro-ro Euroferry Olympia carrying more than 290 passengers and crew was involved in a fire off Corfu, Greece, while on its way to Brindisi in Italy.
