Cruise-Ausonia

Repairs of the "Cruise Ausonia" were completed on Jan 10, 2019. The ship left the yard at 3.40 p.m. and headed to Civitavecchia, where it arrived on Jan 11 at 7.40 a.m. It started a service between this port and Barcelona on Jan 17 atr midnight with a first arrival in Barcelona on Jan 18 at 9.30 p.m.

After the "Cruise Ausonia" finally berthed in Palermo at 5.15 p.m. on Oct 28, assisted by the tug "Paul", the 262 passengers safely disembarked from the ship 14 hours after their ordeal started. The fire also had affected collectors, and for this reason two of the three engines were initially turned off. The ship with only one functioning engine was 18 miles from Ustica then. Btu hte crew succeeded in starting a second engine trying to get closer to the place of Ustica to allow the technical assessments by the personnel of the Coast guard of Palermo. After the situation was carefully assessed, it was decided to head directly to the port of departure which could be reached within six hours. Because of the scirocco winds, the sea conditions make the return trip even more complicated. The passengers on board who had been wakened at 3.30 a.m. gathered at the muster stations with life vests donned on were fine. They were kept informed about the developments and had a breakfast in the morning. The crew was well prepared for the situation and kept the passengers calm during the hours on sea. In the port of Palermo an investigation of the Port Authority started as soon as the ferry had docked to determine the causes of the fire. She left the port of Palermo again on Oct 31 at 9 p.m., bound to Genova, ETA Nov 2, 8 a.m. The ferry entered the Fiera Internazionale Drydock in Genova on Nov 2 at 11 a.m. Italian reports with photos and video: https://www.blogsicilia.it/palermo/abbiamo-avuto-paura-e-terrore-ma-lequipaggio-e-stato-eccezionale-foto-video/459026/ https://palermo.repubblica.it/cronaca/2018/10/28/news/principio_di_incendio_a_bordo_rientra_in_porto_a_palermo_il_traghetto_per_livorno-210204419/?refresh_ce#gallery-slider=210244806

A fire broke out in the engine room of the "Cruise Ausonia" enroute from Palermo, where she had sailed at 12.30 a.m., to Livorno on Oct 28, 2018, around 03:30. a.m. about 18 miles from Ustica. The affected engine compartment was sealed off. One of the two engines which initialy were shut down had been re-started. The ship changed course to return to the port of Palermo with a slow speed of about 6,5 knots, ETA 3 p.m. On board were 262 passengers, including 10 children, and 85 crew members. No injuries were reported. Fire fighters were sent to the ship from Palermo. The ferry "Majestic" (IMO: 9015735), of Grandi Navi Veloci, which was enroute to Civitavecchia, with 188 passengers on board also diverted to the "Cruise Ausonia", as well as the tug "Paul" (IMI: 9005819), the SAR vessel "CP 876" (MMSI: 247032200) and the VF "R 17" (MMSI: 247260300) of the Coast Guard as well as three launches of the port captaincies of Trapani and Palermo. The ferry dropped anchor off the port of Palermo at 3.45 p.m. in pos. 38° 7.28' N 013° 24.66' E. She was attended by the patrol boat "GDF 116" (MMSI: 247123800) at its mooring. At 5.15 p.m. the ship finally berthed. Reports with photo and video: https://www.rainews.it/tgr/toscana/video/2018/10/tos-incendio-traghetto-Palermo-Livorno-af842cfd-c38e-4ecc-9bac-3b52f3286878.html http://www.ilsecoloxix.it/p/italia/2018/10/28/ADFv18KC-incendio_grimaldi_nessun.shtml http://www.trasportoeuropa.it/index.php/home/archvio/14-marittimo/19030-incendio-sul-traghetto-cruise-ausonia-il-28-ottobre-2018 https://palermo.repubblica.it/cronaca/2018/10/28/foto/cruise_ausonia_la_nave_e_arrivata_in_porto_a_palermo-210244825/1/ http://palermo.gds.it/2018/10/28/incendio-sulla-nave-palermo-livorno-finita-lodissea-per-i-passeggeri-tanta-paura-poteva-finire-peggio_941165/?utm_source=immediafeed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=hp_palermo