A fire erupted aboard a ro-ro operated by Grimaldi Group on Wednesday while off New Jersey that led to the death of two firefighters trying to extinguish the blaze.
The fire started at about 9:30pm local time (0130 GMT Thursday) aboard Grimaldi Deep Sea’s 3,950-lane-metre Grande Costa d’Avorio (built in 2011) while at berth at the Port of Newark and is still active, said company spokesman Mark Clark.
“The vessel still has fire onboard,” he told TradeWinds.
The US Coast Guard said there were no additional injuries among firefighters or the vessel’s crew.
Clark said he had no further information on the fire, but he said Grimaldi representatives from the nearby state of Connecticut were on their way to the scene to get more information.
“We are obviously very sad about the loss of the two firefighters,” he said.
Grimaldi Deep Sea said the Italian-flag vessel was completing the loading of 1,200 rolling units that were comprised of cars, vans and trucks and 157 containers when the fire started on deck 10 while attended by stevedores and crewmembers. The Newark Fire Department said the ship had
“There are no electric cars nor hazardous cargo on board,” the Grimaldi Group subsidiary said in a statement.
“Sadly, during the firefighting operations, Grimaldi Deep Sea were informed that two firefighters lost their lives. All company’s thoughts, prayers and sympathies are with their families and team currently.”
The fire’s cause is unknown at this time, but Grimaldi will undertake a full investigation in close cooperation with all relevant authorities, the company said.
“The crew of the vessel immediately activated the on-board fire suppression procedures while the local firefighting service were alerted, and their prompt response played a crucial role in containing and bringing the fire under control,” Grimaldi said.
No fuel spill has been detected at sea, nor does the stability of the ship, which carries 28 crewmembers and provides a regular ro-ro service between North America and West Africa, appear to be compromised.
“Grimaldi Deep Sea wishes to thank and acknowledge the fast and professional response of the firefighting teams to this incident,” the company said.
Grimaldi said it will provide updates on the incident as soon as they become available.
The Grande Costa d’Avorio has protection and indemnity insurance from NorthStandard and is classed by Registro Italiano Navale (Rina), according to Equasis.
