Grimaldi’s Conro Grande Brasile (26,000 dwt) was towed to port on February 23, after a fire broke out while the vessel was in the English Channel last week. The fire is believed to have been extinguished and contained to a small section of the RoRo sector of the vessel and the crew escaped uninjured.
The authorities granted permission for salvage tugs to bring the ship to port during daylight hours. Four tugs from Dutch company Multraship, numbers 32, 33, 35, and 36, moved the dead ship into Antwerp where it was tied up at the Euroterminal. Boskalis’ Smit unit was hired to oversee the salvage of the vessel.
Images online showed scorching from the fire on the vessel’s superstructure near the funnel. Blistering is visible on two or more decks but contained within an area of the ship. Grimaldi initially reported one fire on February 17 which its crew attempted to extinguish with the CO2 system. Lifeboats from the UK’s RNLI attended the vessel but were released only to be recalled later the same day when a second fire was discovered aboard the vessel. The Grimaldi crew abandoned ship into its lifeboat and were rescued by one of the tugs and transferred to the Ramsgate Lifeboat to be taken to shore.
Grimaldi told the European press there were indications of what had caused the fire but would not speculate until the investigation was completed. The vessel frequently transports used cars and containers and was bound for West Africa.
Two of the Multraship tugs reached the vessel on February 18 and working with Boskalis’ tug Kamara were conducting cooling operations. The French rescue vessel Abeille Normandie was also standing by monitoring the operation.
Salvage crews were expected to board the vessel now that it has returned to port to ensure the fire has been extinguished. Then inspectors will begin searching for the origins.
Today, February 24, there are unconfirmed reports of yet another fire on a different Grimaldi vessel. Lloyd’s is reporting that fire occurred on the Grande Congo (47,600 dwt) as the vessel was transiting to Norfolk, Virginia. This Conro is now docked in Norfolk having arrived from Spain.
The company has experienced several vessel fires in the past few years. In 2019, it had fires on two vessels that led to changes in the rules for handling hazardous cargo. Then in 2023, another of the company’s vessels in New Jersey when a fire started as cars were being loaded. Two local firefighters were killed after boarding the vessel. It burned for days damaging the RoRo section of the vessel.
Grimaldi has indicated it will be fully cooperating with the authorities in the investigation into the fire on the Grande Brasile.
