Tuesday night has been adventurous for the 875 passengers and 141 crew members of the Greek passenger ship ‘Eleftherios Venizelos’, after a fire broke out onboard, while the vessel was sailing in the Aegean sea.
The ship had departed Piraeus port at 22.00 heading to Chania, Crete, when a fire, erupted from an unspecified cause and originated from the garage, made the passengers waiting on concentration points with their lifejackets on.
According to local media reports, the fire was reported at midnight while the ship was sailing 8 nm from Agios Georgios island, off Ydra. At the time of the incident, over 1,000 people where onboard, in addition to 80 trucks and 152 cars. Initial estimations suggest the fire began from a truck in the garage.
From the first minutes, firefighting forces were alerted. In addition, two ships sailing by, as well as 9 Coast Guard vessels and one frigate headed to the scene.
Ten vehicles with 48 firefighters and two EMAK teams took part in the fire extinguishing operation onboard. The passengers gathered on upper decks, in the aft part of the vessel, wearing life jackets in case of embarkation on the lifeboats.
The ship eventually returned to Piraeus at 4.00 am as it was sailing in low speed. Passengers’ disembarkation has been completed safely and many of the passengers were driven to hotels, while Eleftherios Venizelos’s route was replaced by another ship later this morning.
At the port of Piraeus there were officers of the shipowning company, ANEK, who will take care of the passenger vehicles. Any vehicles that have been damaged are expected to be compensated by the ship’s insurance company.
The fire extinguishers of the ship operated immediately and the fire was brought under control by the crew. The ship returned to Piraeus by the same means. All passengers have safely disembarked and the company is looking after their immediate needs and the continuity of their journey,
…the company said in an official statement.
