Another container fire has claimed another ship. On Sunday, a fire broke out in a weather-deck container on the roll on/roll off container ship MV Grande America while in the Bay of Biscay, 150 miles off the French coast. The fire quickly spread to other containers and to vehicles on the ro-ro deck. The captain ordered the crew of 27 to abandon ship. A lifeboat was launched but was damaged in heavy seas. 

Fortunately, HMS Argyll, a Royal Navy ‘Duke’ Class frigate, was in the area and was diverted to rescue Grande America’s crew. The rescue lasted eight hours in rough conditions. The crew were taken to the French port of Brest. Some of the crew required hospitalization, but no life-threatening injuries were reported.

The French authorities dispatched a Falcon 50 maritime surveillance plane to the scene. A fire fighting salvage tug attempted to bring the fire under control. Nevertheless, France’s Marine Nationale reported today that Grande America sank in the Bay of Biscay in 4,600 meters of water. MV Grande America was 28,000 DWT and operated by Grimaldi Group. 

Fires originating in cargo containers are occurring with a disturbing frequency. So far this year, fires in containers have broken out on the APL Vancouver in early February off Vietnam and in January on the Yantian Express southeast of Newfoundland, Canada. Fortunately, both fires were brought under control without a loss of life.

The worst recent containership fire was aboard the Maersk Honam a year ago in the Arabian Sea. Five crew were lost and the fire burned for over a month. The bow and accommodations block of the 15,000 TEU ship were so damaged that they were scrapped. A new bow and deckhouse are being fabricated in a Korean shipyard to be attached to the undamaged stern.