A car carrier crossing the English Channel reported a fire and subsequently requested towing assistance. Unlike other recent incidents, the fire appears to be confined to the engine room area and has not spread to the cargo on board.
According to reports, on October 24 local time, the car carrier Grande Roma, operated by Grimaldi Euromed, departed from Antwerp, Belgium, bound for Jebel Ali Port in the United Arab Emirates. At approximately 10 p.m. on the 25th, the captain of the Grande Roma reported a fire in the engine room while the vessel was transiting the English Channel.
After the fire broke out, the crew immediately activated the onboard carbon dioxide fire suppression system and continued cooling the bulkheads.
Although the fire appeared to be extinguished, the vessel lost propulsion.
Grimaldi said that the captain of the accident vessel had requested rescue, and the rescue tugboat “Abeille Liberte” arrived at the disabled vessel on the morning of October 26 and successfully tied the towline.
As of late October 27, the tugboat had arrived at the Port of Le Havre in France. The latest data indicates that the Grande Roma is adrift.
In response to this incident, claims handling firm WK Webster has issued a warning that the accident may give rise to general average/salvage and related subrogation issues.
Records indicate that the Grande Roma was built in 2003, flies the Italian flag, has a capacity of 5,379 vehicles, and measures 196 meters in length.
It is understood that this marks the second fire incident involving Grimaldi vessels in the English Channel in 2025. Earlier this year in February, the company’s ro-ro vessel Grande Brasile experienced a fire.
Crew initially believed the blaze had been contained, but hours later a secondary fire broke out on one of the vehicle decks. The vessel was subsequently abandoned and towed to Belgium, where it was ultimately scrapped in April 2025.
Grimaldi is currently advancing its fleet modernization program, building larger ammonia-fueled car carriers and other vessel types in China in addition to cargo ships and passenger ferries.