A fire broke out at the engine room of the Turkish cargo ship ‘Kilic 1’, off the coast of Greece, on November 20. Kilic 1 which had left Tunisia for Turkey, carries twenty tons of diesel oil in her tanks.
The 11-member crew of the ship, all Turkish nationals, did not manage to put the fire under control, and thus were forced to abandon ship. Italian cruise ship, Costa Luminosa, arrived at the scene after responding to Kilic’s distress call. The crew all boarded the cruise ship and are all considered to be safe and in good health.
The fire started by an unspecified cause. Greek maritime authorities arrived upon the scene in force, with over six Coast Guard vessels, a navy helicopter and multiple tugs that attempted to put out the fire.
Two fireboats, one from Piraeus and the other from Crete, are expected 8 nautical miles southeast of Cape Matapan, Greece for further assistance.
At the time of the incident, the Kilic 1, Turkish flag, had approximately 20 tons of diesel fuel in her tank, but there are no signs of a fuel spill in the surrounding area.
