Crete tourist guide

A dangerous fire on a ferry to Chania

2018-08-29 17:38:23

Tonight there was a very serious incident involving the ferry "El. Venizelos" belonging to the well-known shipowner ANEK lines. Just before midnight a fire broke out on the lower deck of a ship sailing from Piraeus to Chania . According to preliminary findings in garage number 3, one of the trucks parked there, which carried plastic products. The captain decided to stop the cruise and return to the port of Piraeus.

Fig. Petros Giannakouris / AP Photo
More: http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/51,114881,23836574.html

The ferry left the port of Piraeus just after 2 pm. There were 875 passengers on board and 141 crew members, as well as 80 lorries, 152 passenger cars, 3 buses and 30 motorcycles. The first two hours of the cruise, until the outbreak of the fire, proceeded without major disturbances.

According to information provided by ANEK Lines, the fire protection system installed on this unit worked properly and allowed to quickly extinguish the main source of fire located in the garage number 3. Unfortunately, the smoke caused by this fire significantly prevented the further implementation of the voyage.

Most of the ferry's rooms were filled with acrid smoke that made breathing difficult. For safety reasons, the captain decided to launch standard procedures related to the evacuation of passengers from the ship. Over a thousand people have been gathered in security zones located on the outer decks. In these places, everyone was provided with life jackets. The crew also handed out wet towels to all those who had breathing problems. Just in case, a decision was made to prepare to launch lifeboats located on the passenger deck.

El. Ferry route Venizelos - source: www.marinetraf.com

After more than a 2.5 hour stop at 2:40 in the morning, the captain informed the passengers that the evacuation from the deck would not be needed. In technical terms, the ship was fully operational and could safely move by itself. A decision has been made that the ferry will return to Piraeus. At this point it is worth noting that the ally in the rescue operation was a calm sea and the weather, which was characterized by moderate winds that night.

Moving at a speed limited to about 16 knots, the ship reached the port around 4 o'clock. Due to the strong smokiness of the lower deck, where the garages were located, the passengers could not leave the deck by means of the rear doors. It made it very difficult to continue the evacuation, which could only be carried out through narrow side exits. Being sure that at this point none of the people on board the ferry is in danger, the emergency services have decided that safety is a priority in this case. In the first place, older people and parents with children were brought to the mainland. It was only after nearly 3 hours of calling at the port of Piraeus that the emergency services managed to complete the evacuation operation.

After all passengers left the deck, firefighters began to completely burn down the rubble of cars in the garage. It was not until 10 o'clock that it was decided to open the lower deck door in order to flood the rooms with foam. Vassilis Mattheophopoulos, commander of the guards' unit conducting the operation, emphasized that the conditions in this part of the ship were very difficult due to the strong smoke and limited space. It was not until 12 o'clock that the firemen managed to end the fire-fighting operation.

It is important to emphasize that at the moment there is no information about possible victims or that someone would suffer any damage as a result of that fire. Any persons whose vehicles have been damaged as a result of a fire can count on adequate compensation guaranteed by the insurance company of the ship.

Gosia i Piotrek,  2018-08-29 17:38:23

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