~200 evacuated after fire ignites on GNV La Superba ferry in Palermo (Italy)

   January 16, 2023 ,   Accidents

GNV La Superba ferry was badly damaged after a fire on Saturday, January 14th.

The damage on the vessel of the Italian shipowner Grandi Navi Veloci (GNV) is significant.

At the time of the accident, the ship was at the quay in Port Palermo (Sicily Italy).

GNV La Superba ferry has a capacity of 2920 passengers and operates between Palermo and Naples. The vessel had arrived the day before in the Sicilian port. The fire broke out on the car deck, and the 180 passengers and 80 crew onboard were immediately evacuated.

The operations to put an end to the fire lasted several hours. A dozen trucks and 34 firefighters were sent to extinguish the fire, supported by teams from Portitalia, the concessionaire of the port's container terminal.

In a statement, GNV said that the crisis unit, permanently connected via the operations center, had also coordinated all other functions of the company to ensure maximum assistance to passengers affected by the accident. 

GNV La Superba ferry

With LOA length 212 m, the 2002-built ship La Superba had already suffered a fire (in the engine room) in 2009 while in Port Genoa.

For more GNV La Superba ferry incidents and accidents see the ship's CruiseMinus page.