Passengers are to be taken off the ferry on to a sister ship at sea.

Passengers are to be taken off the ferry on to a sister ship at sea. | Salvamento Marítimo

Humphrey CarterPalma08/07/2024 15:52
TW
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The Salvamento Marítime maritime rescue service has begun evacuating passengers from the ‘Tenacia’ ferry, belonging to the GNV shipping company, to the ‘Bridge’ sister vessel, belonging to the same company, by means of the ‘Salvamar Libertas’ rescue vessel. The ‘Tenacia’, which was adrift at dawn after a fire in the engine room, was carrying 350 passengers and 61 crew members.

The ship is located to the north of Ibiza, 53 miles from Dragonera and will be towed to Valencia soon, according to sources from the GNV company. The vessel will be towed to the port of origin “when it is confirmed that it can be done with all the safety measures”.

According to Salvamento Marítimo, the fire activated the safety protocols of the Salvamento coordination centres in Palma, Barcelona, Tarragona and Madrid and the Capitanía Marítima de Palma. Under the direction of the Capitanía Marítima, the rescue ships Acrux, Libertas and the SAR vessels Mesana and Marta Mata were deployed to the scene, and the helicopters Helimer 221, Helimer 207 and Helimer 203 flew the ferry’s aid.

The fire is now extinguished, although hot spots remain. Helimer 207 has transferred three MIRG firefighters from the Generalitat to assess the situation and its possible towing by a private company to the Port of Valencia and another six firefighters are expected to be transferred this morning.

The fire broke out in the engine room and smoke reached deck 3. A fire brigade worked all night to extinguish it, while the passengers were moved to the boat deck. The aim is to monitor the hot areas and to check that it is safe to tow the passengers to port. Maritime Rescue is continuing with the fire-fighting work while, at the same time, GNV has contracted a commercial tug which will be in charge of moving the vessel to Valencia.