Irregularities found on cargo ship that caught fire off Livorno, Italy

Maritime safety investigators from the harbour master’s office of Livorno, Italy, have identified a number of irregularities following a fire on board a freight-only Ro-Ro vessel in the waters just off the city the previous week.

The incident occurred at around 02:30 local time on Thursday, November 21, when a blaze erupted in the engine room of the Maltese-flagged Eurocargo Trieste just minutes after it sailed out of Livorno en route to Savona. The fire quickly spread to other areas of the ship but was successfully extinguished by late afternoon on Thursday.

No injuries have been reported among the 25-member crew.

Eurocargo Trieste was later towed to Livorno, where it has since been berthed to allow accident investigators to inspect the damage caused by the blaze.

The subsequent inspection of the vessel by the Livorno harbour master’s office revealed a number of onboard irregularities that violate existing navigation safety standards.

The investigators said the most glaring irregularities were found in the vessel’s fixed fire extinguishing system and onboard safety equipment but did not provide specifics.

Eurocargo Trieste was then seized by the harbour master’s office to prevent it from sailing out of Livorno unless the identified issues with the firefighting system and the safety equipment were resolved by the vessel’s owners.

Meanwhile, inspectors from operator Grimaldi Lines and from the Maltese government have also completed their assessment of the damage sustained by the vessel in the fire.