Three officers of the Grimaldi Group who were onboard the Grande Europa when it caught fire off Mallorca last month, have been been arrested in Spain for alleged arson. Namely, the third officer and two other crew members are facing accusations of setting off two fires on the ship.
As the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported, prosecutors in Spain are considering the possibility that the fires could have been set in order to get insurance payouts.
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However, Grimaldi stated that it is cooperating with the Spanish Guardia Civil in the investigations, adding that it is the victim, as it ‘suffered severe impacts on the operative, commercial and insurance sides.’
Grande Europa, caught fire off the island of Mallorca, Spain, on May 15, the Spanish sea rescue society informed. The fire on the 51,714 GT ship has been brought under control by three fire fighting ships.
The incident is the second fire related concerning Grimaldi Lines vessels. Namely, the Italian con/ro ‘Grande America’ caught fire, approximately 140 nm off Finistère, forcing all 27 members of her crew to abandon ship, on March 10.
After Grimaldi’s Grande Europa caught fire, the company launched an appeal to introduce more stringent controls and regulations on cargo sea transport, not only for rolling units but also for containers.
