On January 7th, 2020, the Italian cruise ship ‘Grande America’ caught fire in the Bay of Biscay off the west coast of France. The fire began in a cargo hold and rapidly spread throughout the ship. All passengers and crew members were safely evacuated and no casualties were reported.
The ‘Grande America’ was travelling from Hamburg, Germany to Casablanca, Morocco when the fire broke out. It had been estimated that the ship was carrying 2,200 tons of fuel oil, 600 tons of diesel fuel, and 200 tons of lubricating oil.
The cause of the blaze is still unknown; however early reports suggest that it could have been due to an electrical malfunction or a short circuit. The French Maritime Prefecture said that it did not appear to have been caused by any malicious intent.
The French Navy dispatched several ships to assist with the rescue and evacuation efforts while aircrafts flew overhead to survey the situation. Approximately 300 people were evacuated from the ship via lifeboats and helicopters.
The fire was eventually extinguished by firefighters on board two tugboats, but not before causing extensive damage to the ship – resulting in it breaking into two pieces after sinking in the Bay of Biscay.
Conclusion:
The ‘Grande America’ cruise ship caught fire on January 7th, 2020 in the Bay of Biscay near France. Although all passengers and crew members were safely evacuated, no cause for why the blaze started has been determined yet. The fire caused extensive damage to the ship which led it to break into two pieces after sinking in its final resting place beneath the waves.
8 Related Question Answers Found
What Cruise Ship Caught on Fire? On February 10, 2020, the cruise ship MSC Armonia caught on fire while docked in Roatan, Honduras. The fire broke out in the engine room of the vessel while it was docked at a pier.
The cruise ship industry has seen a surge in popularity over the past few years, but one of the biggest headlines recently has been the tragic fire which broke out on board the MSC Opera. What Happened? On May 10th, 2019, the MSC Opera was sailing along the Adriatic Sea when a fire broke out in its engine room.
Today, news broke of another cruise ship disaster when the Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line announced that one of their vessels, the Grand Celebration, caught fire early this morning. The Grand Celebration was in the midst of a two-day cruise from Palm Beach, Florida to Freeport, Bahamas when the blaze began shortly after 6 AM. The Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line quickly released a statement saying that all 1,500 passengers and crew members had been safely evacuated from the ship and were on their way to Freeport.
On the night of February 10th, 2020, the world was shocked by news that a cruise ship had caught fire in the Mediterranean Sea. The Costa Firenze, owned by Italian cruise line Costa Crociere, was en route from Marseille, France to Genoa, Italy when passengers and crew were forced to evacuate due to an on-board blaze. The fire began in one of the ship’s cabins and quickly spread throughout the vessel.
The MSC Opera cruise ship recently caught fire and caused a great deal of distress for its passengers. The incident occurred in the early hours of June 9th, 2019 near the Italian island of Ischia. It is reported that the fire started in one of the engine rooms and spread to other areas of the ship.
On Tuesday, the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia ran aground off the coast of the island of Giglio, Italy. The accident has left at least six people dead, over twenty missing and more than 4,200 passengers and crew stranded on board. The cause of the accident is still under investigation, but it appears that the ship had veered off course and struck a reef near the island.
On February 10, 2020, the Carnival Cruise Ship ‘Carnival Splendor’ was engulfed in flames and smoke in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico. The incident occurred at around 7:00 a.m. local time when the vessel had just finished a seven-day cruise from Long Beach, California.
What Cruise Ship Had an Accident? The cruise ship Costa Concordia experienced a major accident on January 13, 2012. The incident occurred off the coast of Giglio, Italy, where the ship had been sailing to from Civitavecchia.
