News is now being reported of the passenger ferry fire off the coast of Corfu, Greece. As usual, most of the news channels are focusing on a fairly narrow personal-story perspective, but below are the relevant details for the marine world.
Vessel: Ro-Ro Ferry “Norman Atlantic” (IMO No. 9435466)
P & I Club: Gard
GT: 26,904
Build: 2009
Flag: Italy
Operator: Visemar di Navigazione Srl
Numbers Onboard: 422 Passengers, 56 crew
Voyage: Oatras, Greece – Ancona, Italy.
Incident: a fire broke out on the vehicle deck and quickly spread. Most passengers were disembarked into life craft, but many remain trapped onboard. Rescue teams on water were hampered by gale force winds and passengers in life craft are now being lifted by helicopter in pairs of two. At least one passenger died escaping the fire. It is not yet clear whether the vessel will be a CTL but given the extent of the fire damage it does appear likely.