A fire erupted in the Port of Barcelona after a ferry collided with a loading crane at one of the port’s container terminals on the south pier early this morning.
As a result of the collision the loading crane collapsed on a number of containers at the terminal, seven of which contained dangerous goods. However, none of these represented a high risk, the Managing Director of the Port of Barcelona Jose Alb. Carbonell, said during a press conference today. The ship in question has been identified as the Italian-flagged RoRo-passenger vessel Excellent, operated by Italian company Grandi Navi Veloci (GNV).
The port authorities said that there were no injuries reported and that the fire has been controlled.
The firefighters informed on their Twitter account that several units were dispatched to the scene and that the area had been evacuated. Carbonell confirmed that the fire has been extinguished.
Comencem la roda de premsa per informar sobre l’incident aquest matí al moll Sud del #PortdeBarcelona pic.twitter.com/1ce3ROlMhD
— Port de Barcelona (@portdebarcelona) October 31, 2018
The vessel was carrying a total of 414 passengers, 59 of which were destined for Barcelona.
The rest of the passengers have disembarked and are waiting for another GNV vessel to transport them to Tangier. The ship is scheduled to arrive this evening, the Port of Barcelona informed.
GNV confirmed that its vessel Excellent was involved in the collision while maneuvering in the port of Barcelona amid adverse weather conditions. The company said that all passengers and crew members were safe and well, and that they were cooperating with local authorities in the investigation of the incident.
Based on the video footage released on Youtube, the ship has been towed away from the scene.
The cause of the incident is yet to be determined.
World Maritime News Staff