The Fire-Damaged Grimaldi Conro Is Towed To Port.
The Grimaldi Group’s Conro Grande Brasil (26,000 tonnes) was towed back to port on Sunday 23 February after a fire broke out while sailing in the English Channel last week. The fire is believed to have been extinguished and contained to a small part of the ro-ro section of the vessel, and the crew is safe.
Authorities have given permission for the salvage tugs to return the vessel to port during the day. Four tugboats (numbered 32, 33, 35 and 36) of the Dutch company Multraship transported the stricken vessel to Antwerp and docked at Europier. Boskalis’ SMIT unit was entrusted with overseeing the salvage of the vessel.
Images posted online show burns on the ship’s superstructure near the chimney caused by the fire. Blisters were seen on two or more decks, but were confined to one area of the vessel. Grimaldi first reported the fire on February 17 and his crew attempted to extinguish it using a CO2 system.
A Royal Marine lifeboat was called to the rescue of the vessel but was released and recalled later that day after a second fire was discovered on board. The Grimaldi crew abandoned ship in the lifeboat and were rescued by a dinghy and transferred to the Ramsgate lifeboat for shore.
Grimaldi told European media there were indications of the cause of the fire but he would not speculate until an investigation was complete. The vessel, which regularly carries used cars and containers, is bound for West Africa.
Two multi-vessel tugboats arrived at the vessel on February 18 to perform refrigerated operations alongside the Boskalis Camara tugboat. The French rescue ship Abel Normandie was also on hand to oversee the operation.
Rescuers are expected to board the vessel once it returns to port to ensure the fire is out. Inspectors will then begin tracking assets.
Today, February 24, there were unconfirmed reports of a fire on another Grimaldi vessel. Lloyd’s reports that the Grand Congo (47,600 tons) caught fire while en route to Norfolk, Virginia. The ship is currently docked in Norfolk after arriving from Spain.
The company has experienced several ship fires in recent years. In 2019, two ships caught fire, which led to changes in the dangerous goods handling rules. Then in 2023, another of the company’s vessels caught fire while loading cars in New Jersey. Two local firefighters died after boarding the ship. It burned for several days and damaged the ro-ro section of the ship.
Grimaldi said he would fully cooperate with the authorities investigating the Gran Brasil fire.
