Grande-Roma

The 'Grande Roma' suffered a power outage due to a fire in its engine room off the coast of France on Oct 25 at 10 p.m., while it was transiting the English Channel, approximately 21 nautical miles south of Weymouth. The crew promptly vented CO2 into the engine room and began cooling the bulkheads. The fire was subsequently brought under control, The captain reported that there were no injuries or pollution resulting from the incident. Since the vessel was left without propulsion and therefore unmanoeverable, he requested assistance from the tug 'Abeille Liberte' (IMO: 9308699), which attached a towline on Oct 26 at 9:36 a.m. and assisted the vessel to the nearby port of Le Havre. The 'Grande Roma', a ship soon to be removed from the Grimaldi fleet due to its sale, had departed the port of Antwerp on Oct 24, bound for Jebel Ali, where it had been due to arrive on Nov 25. Grimaldi Euromed has arranged all necessary assistance for the crew, the vessel, and the cargo in Le Havre. On Oct 27 at 9 p.m., the ship was safely berthed at the Terminal de Normandia in Le Havre for inspections and repairs. It remained stationary as of Nov 3. The last inspection, conducted earlier in October in Antwerp, highlighted several fire safety issues, with six deficiencies detected by inspectors from the local maritime authority. Two were related to jacketed high-pressure lines and oil leakage alarms. Additional issues were identified concerning boiler alarms, bilge pumping arrangements, and means of control in machinery spaces. WK Webster has cautioned that the incident may lead to general average, salvage, and associated recovery considerations. Report with photo: https://lemarin.ouest-france.fr/shipping/victime-dun-incendie-en-manche-le-car-carrier-grande-roma-remorque-au-havre-bfe3b462-b40d-11f0-b69a-6e4ddcc8cd29

The "Grande Roma" was troubled in the English Channel on March 17, 2019, east of the of Isle of Wight, while en route from Antwerp to Southampton. The ship with 26 crew members on board informed the Coastguard that it was at anchor in position 050 39 18.6 N, 000 12 18 E, due to the failure of an air compressor, at 6.55 p.m. The "Grande Roma" was due at Nab Tower for pilot boarding on March 18 at 8 a.m. The tug "Multratug 17" (IMO: 9481752) was called from Zeebrugge and arrived on scene to assist around 1 a.m. on March 18. The vessel was carrying 250 vehicles as cargo. The ship was taken in tow and was approaching the waters of the Isle of Wight, joined by the tug "Lomax" (IMO: 9657832) with destination Southampton, where it berthed at the 102 RoRo Terminal at 7.50 p.m.

On Feb 21, 2019, at 10.30 a.m. a shuttle vehicle hit against a cargo deck of the "Grande Roma" when driving onto a loading ramp between two decks. The height was not enough, and so the car crashed. Three workers who had been busy with loading of vehicles suffered slight injuries and were taken to the hospital in Emden. After a checkup all could be released again. The marine police in Emden launched an investigation. The ship left the port on Feb 21 at midnight and headed to Antwerp, where it berthed on Feb 22 at 8.50 p.m., before proceeding to Sheerness, where it arrived on Feb 24 at 6.30 p.m.

On Aug 6, 2018, the "Grande Roma" (IMO: 9247936), tilted to starboard in the dry dock of Malta Dry Docks in Valletta which the ship had entered on July 31 for maintenance. The accident was thought to have been caused by a collapse of the dock supports due to the weight of the large stern ramp when this was lowered onto the dock side. On Aug 7 the ship was stabilized again and brought back on even keel after the dock was flooded. On Aug 13 at 10.30 a.m. the tugs"RT Spinola" (IMO: 9495258) and "Sea Salvor" (IMO: 9203100) pulled the sihp out of the dock again. The vessel left the yard on Sep 5 at 4 p.m. and headed to Monfalcone as first port of call after repairs; ETA Sep 8. Photos: http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2892755 http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2892817 http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2892822 http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2892821 http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2895529