Palermo to Naples Overnight Ferry: a Night of Terror on the Vincenzo Florio
Dec 20th, 2004, 11:27 AM
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Palermo to Naples Overnight Ferry: a Night of Terror on the Vincenzo Florio
Were any Fodorites on board the Tirrenia Line's car ferry Vincenzo Florio the night of Saturday, December 18 as the ship set sail from Palermo to Naples?
What started out as a fairly routine departure turned out to be a night of horror for the 472 passengers on board the ship. The ship never made it to Naples. Here's what happened:
The Vincenzo Florio set sail at 21:30, or 45 minutes past its scheduled departure time (actually rather common for this ship). Passengers were finishing their dinner in the restaurant or self-service cafeteria, and many were returning to their cabins or reclining seats for the night.
At 23:30, while the ship had just passed the island of Ustica on its northbound crossing, and the loudspeakers were announcing the closing of the cafeteria, suddenly the lights on the ship went out. It was pitch dark, and passengers were startled. There had been a total power failure, and the ship's engines suddently quit. With sea conditions at force 8, the car ferry began to be buffeted back and forth by the very strong waives and gale-force winds.
Then things got much worse. About 40 minutes later, and still without engine power, two huge bigrigs parked in the ship's garage crashed against one another, causing sparkes and setting off a fire! A fire in the garage .... with 410 autos and other vehicles, each full of gasoline. There was a danger of a huge explosion! Thick, black smoke began billowing through the ship, reaching the salon three stories up, where passengers began to panic.
The ship's captain ordered everyone to don life vests, and declared an emergency. Palermo harbor requested any ships in the vicinity to immediately sail at full speed to participate in a possible rescue of passengers on the now-drifting car ferry.
But the Vincenzo Florio was lucky. The crew managed to put out the fire, and even to regain engine power, but only after four hours. The ship headed back to Palermo on its own power, and when it arrived at daybreak, everyone noticed that it was listing 12 degrees to one side, due to the huge amounts of water which had been used to put out the fire, as well as the vehicles having been pushed to one side during the storm.
As passengers began to disembark, kissing the earth as they set foot on the Palermo dock, a sad discovery: five race horses in the garage had died from the smoke.
Tirrenia Lines and the Port Authority have begun separate investigations. In the meantime, a substitute ship has been pressed into service to maintain (along with the Raffaele Rubattino, Florio's twin) the daily overnight service in both directions.
The Florio and Rubattino are among the most modern car ferries in the Tirrenia fleet. They are very capacious ships, measuring nearly 600 feet in length, displacing 30,700 tons, and accommodating over 1,200 passengers and 700 vehicles at a top speed of 23 knots.
The crossing takes about 9 hours and leaves every night at 20:45, from both Naples and Palermo. Service is 365 days per year, unless cancelled due to hurricane-force conditions.
www.tirrenia.it
What started out as a fairly routine departure turned out to be a night of horror for the 472 passengers on board the ship. The ship never made it to Naples. Here's what happened:
The Vincenzo Florio set sail at 21:30, or 45 minutes past its scheduled departure time (actually rather common for this ship). Passengers were finishing their dinner in the restaurant or self-service cafeteria, and many were returning to their cabins or reclining seats for the night.
At 23:30, while the ship had just passed the island of Ustica on its northbound crossing, and the loudspeakers were announcing the closing of the cafeteria, suddenly the lights on the ship went out. It was pitch dark, and passengers were startled. There had been a total power failure, and the ship's engines suddently quit. With sea conditions at force 8, the car ferry began to be buffeted back and forth by the very strong waives and gale-force winds.
Then things got much worse. About 40 minutes later, and still without engine power, two huge bigrigs parked in the ship's garage crashed against one another, causing sparkes and setting off a fire! A fire in the garage .... with 410 autos and other vehicles, each full of gasoline. There was a danger of a huge explosion! Thick, black smoke began billowing through the ship, reaching the salon three stories up, where passengers began to panic.
The ship's captain ordered everyone to don life vests, and declared an emergency. Palermo harbor requested any ships in the vicinity to immediately sail at full speed to participate in a possible rescue of passengers on the now-drifting car ferry.
But the Vincenzo Florio was lucky. The crew managed to put out the fire, and even to regain engine power, but only after four hours. The ship headed back to Palermo on its own power, and when it arrived at daybreak, everyone noticed that it was listing 12 degrees to one side, due to the huge amounts of water which had been used to put out the fire, as well as the vehicles having been pushed to one side during the storm.
As passengers began to disembark, kissing the earth as they set foot on the Palermo dock, a sad discovery: five race horses in the garage had died from the smoke.
Tirrenia Lines and the Port Authority have begun separate investigations. In the meantime, a substitute ship has been pressed into service to maintain (along with the Raffaele Rubattino, Florio's twin) the daily overnight service in both directions.
The Florio and Rubattino are among the most modern car ferries in the Tirrenia fleet. They are very capacious ships, measuring nearly 600 feet in length, displacing 30,700 tons, and accommodating over 1,200 passengers and 700 vehicles at a top speed of 23 knots.
The crossing takes about 9 hours and leaves every night at 20:45, from both Naples and Palermo. Service is 365 days per year, unless cancelled due to hurricane-force conditions.
www.tirrenia.it
Dec 20th, 2004, 11:39 AM
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My goodness, thank you for posting this GAC. I don't think Italian crews pay much attention to their own rules on these ferries.
I crossed the small strait from Calabria to Messina and some of the crew were taking smoking breaks next to the gas lines and fuel tanks right underneath a no smoking sign.
They tossed their cigs onto the floor and ground them out in spilt fuel. I thought of all those cars with gasoline and how we could easily go up like a matchstick.
Thankfully there was a happy ending to this, except for the poor horses. Animals unfortunately are at the mercy of humans.
I crossed the small strait from Calabria to Messina and some of the crew were taking smoking breaks next to the gas lines and fuel tanks right underneath a no smoking sign.
They tossed their cigs onto the floor and ground them out in spilt fuel. I thought of all those cars with gasoline and how we could easily go up like a matchstick.
Thankfully there was a happy ending to this, except for the poor horses. Animals unfortunately are at the mercy of humans.
Dec 20th, 2004, 11:56 AM
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Some more information:
The fire in the garage began when the chains holding down at least one of two big rigs suddenly broke, causing one vehicle to smash against the other. The chains broke because heavy waves and winds were crashing against the ship with a huge force.
There were 170 vehicles in the garage, and many were damaged during the incident. It took several hours after the ship's return to Palermo to open the garage doors, which were stuck.
A car ferry of the competitor Grimaldi/GNV Line, "Victory", which happened to be in the area, accompanied the Florio back to Palermo as a precaution. However, even if it had become necessary to remove passengers from the sticken ship, it is doubtful that a successful rescue operation could have been mounted, owing to the precarious weather conditions. Life boats and rafts might have been useless under the circumstances!
Emergency procedures on board the ship apparently worked well.
There were some minor injuries among the passengers, most from bruises and falls when the lights went out.
The fire in the garage began when the chains holding down at least one of two big rigs suddenly broke, causing one vehicle to smash against the other. The chains broke because heavy waves and winds were crashing against the ship with a huge force.
There were 170 vehicles in the garage, and many were damaged during the incident. It took several hours after the ship's return to Palermo to open the garage doors, which were stuck.
A car ferry of the competitor Grimaldi/GNV Line, "Victory", which happened to be in the area, accompanied the Florio back to Palermo as a precaution. However, even if it had become necessary to remove passengers from the sticken ship, it is doubtful that a successful rescue operation could have been mounted, owing to the precarious weather conditions. Life boats and rafts might have been useless under the circumstances!
Emergency procedures on board the ship apparently worked well.
There were some minor injuries among the passengers, most from bruises and falls when the lights went out.
Dec 20th, 2004, 02:45 PM
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GAC, this is an amazing story, I'm so glad all humans survived, and sorry for the loss of those poor helpless horses.
I can't begin to imagine the fear, and can only partially relate, having once been on a ferry crossing in a huge storm. The ferry was smaller, but for four and a half hours we were climbing and sliding down gigantic waves, being tossed like a matchstick, every single passenger became violently nauseated.
I just remember the walls of water coming at us from all sides, but it must have been worse in the dark!
So I know what you mean about kissing the earth when you reached dry land!!!!
Thanks for posting, and may all you future travels be smooth and serene!!
I can't begin to imagine the fear, and can only partially relate, having once been on a ferry crossing in a huge storm. The ferry was smaller, but for four and a half hours we were climbing and sliding down gigantic waves, being tossed like a matchstick, every single passenger became violently nauseated.
I just remember the walls of water coming at us from all sides, but it must have been worse in the dark!
So I know what you mean about kissing the earth when you reached dry land!!!!
Thanks for posting, and may all you future travels be smooth and serene!!
Dec 20th, 2004, 03:10 PM
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What a nightmare for everyone. And the dear horses, how panicky them must have been To sad to even think about.
I have been on boats when waves have come over the deck and it is indeed scary.
Cannot even imagine how petrified the passengers and crew were.
It seems like a miracle that noone was seriously injured or killed. Except for the poor horses of course.
I would have been kissing the ground too!
I have been on boats when waves have come over the deck and it is indeed scary.
Cannot even imagine how petrified the passengers and crew were.
It seems like a miracle that noone was seriously injured or killed. Except for the poor horses of course.
I would have been kissing the ground too!
Dec 20th, 2004, 05:35 PM
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A few years ago, my daughter and I were on a slow ferry from Mykonos to one of the ports outside Athens when all of a sudden the ferry listed so sharply to port that we on the starboard side were staring right at the water that was almost touching the portside windows. Everyone screamed and clutched at something to hold onto, but luckily it then slammed back down. To this day we don;t know what happened as we didn't understand the subsequent explanation made in Greek, but it was absolutely terrifying!
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