A fire broke out aboard the Italian-flagged Ro-Ro passenger ferry GNV Azzurra on June 19 while the vessel was sailing from Porto Torres, Sardinia, to Genoa, Italy.
The incident occurred approximately 18 nautical miles off Cape Senetosa, Corsica, within the French search and rescue region. At around 21:00 local time, a fire started in the engine room, sending thick black smoke into the air.
The crew immediately alerted the authorities and launched firefighting operations. After nearly two hours of efforts, the fire was successfully brought under control and extinguished.
There were 763 passengers and 113 crew members on board at the time of the incident. No injuries were reported.
However, the fire damaged two of the vessel’s engines, leaving the ferry unable to continue the voyage under its own power. French authorities deployed several assets to assist the ship, including the rescue vessel SNS 17-07 Cyrnos, rescue boat SNS 063 L’Herminier II, emergency towing vessel Abeille Méditerranée, tug Persevero, and a helicopter carrying six firefighters and a marine engineer.
Following an onboard assessment, authorities concluded that the vessel required towing assistance. At approximately 06:30 on June 20, the ferry was taken under tow by the tug Alessandro Onorato and safely returned to Porto Torres.
Upon arrival, all passengers, crew members, and vehicles were safely disembarked. No casualties were reported, and an investigation into the cause of the fire is expected to follow.
