Spanish rescue authorities are overseeing the evacuation of 350 passengers from the Italian ferry Tenacia following an engine room fire that left the vessel disabled in the Mediterranean near Palma de Mallorca.
The incident occurred overnight as the ferry approached its destination. Fortunately, no injuries were reported, and the fire, contained within the engine room, did not spread further.
The fire alarms sounded around 0230 local time while the ferry was approximately 22 miles from Ibiza and 53 miles from Dragonera in the Balearic Islands.
Tenacia, a RoRo ferry operated by Italy’s GNV, departed Valencia at 2230 local time on Sunday, July 7, bound for Palma de Mallorca. Originally scheduled to dock at 0515 the next morning, the ferry encountered difficulties during the voyage.
Salvamento Marítimo coordinated with nearby vessels, including two from MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company and Balearia’s Abel Matutes, which diverted to standby in case of evacuation. By mid-morning, although the fire was contained, it was not completely extinguished, with ongoing efforts to cool the engine room and address remaining hot spots.
For safety reasons, the master of Tenacia decided to evacuate passengers using Salvamento Marítimo rescue boats, transferring them to another GNV ferry, GNV Bridge (32,581 gross tons), which diverted to assist. GNV plans to return the passengers to Valencia, the port of origin, once all are safely transferred.
A salvage tug has been arranged to tow Tenacia to Valencia once it is deemed safe to do so, ensuring the ferry is not adrift in the Mediterranean.
