Another Grimaldi-operated ro/ro vessel has caught fire. On November 21, a fire broke out in the engine room of the 1997-built Eurocargo Trieste just after it had left the port of Livorno. 

None of the crew members were harmed in the incident, reports the Italian fire brigade Vigili del Fuoco which helped to contain and extinguish the fire.

Following inspections and repairs, the vessel has just left the port of Livorno and is now en route to Savona, AIS data of MarineTraffic shows.

#21novembre 10:00, portuali e sommozzatori dei #vigilidelfuoco sono al lavoro da questa notte per un #incendio divampato nella sala macchine di una nave mercantile al largo del porto di #Livorno. Nessuna persona è rimasta coinvolta. Operazioni di bonifica in corso pic.twitter.com/Z1UZXw8JF7

— Vigili del Fuoco (@emergenzavvf) 21 november 2019

Grimaldi has suffered several serious fire-related incidents this year. In March, container/ro-ro vessel Grande America was also hit by a fire, which ultimately resulted in a total loss of the vessel which sank in the Bay of Biscay. The crew managed to escape the vessel but had to endure some scary hours in a lifeboat in very rough seas.

Two months later, the Grande Europa caught fire. This time the crew managed to extinguish the fire and although the ship was severely damaged, the Spanish coast guard could safely tow it to the port of Palma de Mallorca.

In April, there was also a smaller incident in Brasil in which a reportedly “uncontrollable” truck collided with the ro/ro vessel Grande Sao Paolo and caught fire.

Following the fire on board ro/ro vessel Grande Europa, Grimaldi Group launched an appeal to introduce more stringent rules on sea transport of both rolling units and containers. According to the shipping company, the fire onboard the Grande Europa was “the umpteenth case of a fire that broke out on vehicles transported by cargo vessels.”

“Notably, with reference to rolling freight, the Grimaldi Group requests that there be more controls on car batteries, which often cause short-circuits on board vessels, as well as in port terminals”, the company stated.