Blue Carrier 2: fire eases, ship develops list

The Ro-Ro cargo ship Blue Carrier 2 caught fire on Friday 25 September, at around 09:00, while sailing in open water north of Mykonos on the Piraeus–Syros–Vathy Samou–Kos–Rhodes–Kos–Piraeus route. It was carrying 166 trucks and 29 private vehicles in its garages, according to Greek City Times. All 29 people on board, 28 crew members and one truck driver, abandoned the ship in good time using lifeboats and were safely transferred to Tinos, where they underwent precautionary medical checks and are all reported to be in good health. The National Search and Rescue Coordination Centre was informed that morning and mobilised immediately, followed by an emergency operational video conference involving the leadership of the Coast Guard, the Fire Service, the shipowner and the salvage company.

By Saturday 26 September the fire had subsided, but the ship had developed a slight list to starboard because of the large quantities of water poured on to cool its overheated plating. Blue Carrier 2 remains in the strait between Tinos and Mykonos, with salvage crews now focused on stabilising it. The operation involves Coast Guard and Fire Service vessels, tugs and a private salvage company, with the salvage tug “Aegaion Pelagos” having reached the site already on Friday afternoon, according to Greek City Times. The next step is pumping out the water from inside the ship to improve its stability, before sending a specialised team to inspect the areas where the fire broke out and spread and to determine the next steps. The Coast Guard has begun a preliminary investigation into the circumstances in which the incident broke out.

The incident took place in one of the busiest sea lanes in the Cyclades, between Tinos, Mykonos and Andros, a key point for the coastal shipping routes linking the islands with Piraeus. A prolonged immobilisation of a Ro-Ro cargo ship at the spot could indirectly affect the scheduling of other vessels on the line, especially in the middle of the tourist season still under way on Mykonos and Tinos. After the emergency operational video conference held on Friday at the Ministry of Shipping, anti-pollution equipment was placed on standby at neighbouring Port Authorities, as a precaution against possible marine pollution, as reported by Cyclades24.gr. The two sources agree on the basic facts of the incident, with no discrepancy recorded in the number of people on board or the ship’s route.

The operation to stabilise Blue Carrier 2 is expected to continue over the coming hours, with the priority being to prevent any further listing or sinking of the ship. Only after the water has been pumped out and the interior inspected by the specialist recovery team will the next steps be determined, including the possibility of towing it to a port, a decision that will be taken jointly by the Coast Guard and the Fire Service. The authorities have not yet announced a timeline for completing the operation, while the Coast Guard continues its preliminary investigation into the circumstances in which the fire broke out. Tinos and Mykonos remain waiting for developments, as the episode was a reminder of how vulnerable the sea lanes of the Cyclades remain to emergencies.