Raffaele-Rubattino

On Aug 10, 2025, a fire broke out in the engine room of the ' Raffaele Rubatino' and rendered the ship unmanageable, requiring the assistance of two tugs to reach the port of Naples. No injuries were reported on board. The ferry had departed from Palermo and was headed for Naples with 155 passengers and numerous vehicles in the hold. The fire, which broke out while the ship was about 15 miles from the Neapolitan port, was promptly extinguished by the crew, but the damage left the ship unable to navigate unassisted. The captain issued a mayday call via radio, triggering a rescue operation coordinated by the Naples Port Authority. Two patrol boats arrived on the scene, while firefighting and medical teams were preparing on the dock for the disembarkation, scheduled for the evening. Two tus departed from the port of Naples to tow the ship into port, while the Port Authority asked vessels in the area to approach the 'Raffaele Rubattino' to provide assistance if necessary. Meanwhile, another ferry, the 'GNV Auriga', also from Palermo, and two Coast Guard vessels had arrived near the drifting vessel. The two tugs departed from Naples and hooked and began towing it toward port. The captain of the vessel reported that there was no need to evacuate the passengers. The crew's quick response helped contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading to other areas of the ship.

On Jan 19, 2025, at 2.30 a.m. there was an emergency of a passenger who was experiencing chest pain aboard the 'Rafaelle Rubattino', when the ship was sailing 40 miles from Ustica, heading for Palermo from Naples. A nurse and a doctor Liliana boarded the ferry with a launch of the Coast Guard. The man was taken from the ship and brought aboard the launch, where an electrocardiogram was performed. After being disembarked in Palermo, the patient was transferred by ambulance to the Buccheri La Ferla. The patient was able to move. The suspicion of a heart attack, after the electrocardiogram, was ruled out.

After the 'Raffaele Rubattino' a second ship for the quarantine of migrants who land in Sicily is to be stationed in the bay of Palermo off the south-east coast of Sicily. The Head of the Department for Civil Liberties and Immigration of the Ministry of the Interior, Michele Di Bari, informed the Mayor of Pozzallo, Roberto Ammatuna that the tender envelopes have been opened for the use of a ship that can host quarantined migrants. A second ship between Pozzallo and Lampedusa would alleviate a particularly complex burden on Pozzallo and Lampedusa being the hot spots for the reception of migrants as the summer will lead to an intensification of landings.

On May 3, 2020, the quarantine of 183 migrants who had been rescued in the Mediterranean Sea and had to spend two weeks aboard the ferry 'Raffele Rubattino' in Palermo, has ended. All of them were tested negativ and allowed to leave the ship on May 4. Among them were 44 unaccompanied minors. The further fate was acually unclear.