“Norman Atlantic” Ferry Disaster Still Haunts Greece

On December 28, 2014, the Norman Atlantic, a passenger ferry, caught fire in the Strait of Otranto in the Adriatic Sea en route from the Greek port of Patras to Ancona, Italy.

The Norman Atlantic became one of the deadliest maritime disasters in recent Greek history.

The bodies of nine victims, including three Greeks, two Italians, two Germans, a Georgian, and one Turkish passenger, were recovered from the sea.

Nineteen other individuals, including nine Greeks, four Turks, two Italians, one German, two Syrians and one Iraqi stowaway, remain missing to this day, and are presumed dead.

The fire broke out on the car deck just before 6:00 AM local time about half an hour after leaving the port of Igoumenitsa, Greece which was an intermediate stop on the ferry’s regular route.

At the time, the ship was carrying 222 vehicles, as well as 487 passengers and 55 crew members.

The heat from the fire permeated the steel infrastructure of the entire ship, even melting the soles of shoes on the reception deck.

The incident occurred in Greek territorial waters but with night closing in, the ship began drifting toward Albania. There were gale-force winds and torrential rains at the time.

Norman Atlantic passengers described “scenes from hell”

Dramatic footage showed passengers who were in panic and overcome with anxiety as they waited for rescue crews to arrive.

Survivors asserted that the order to abandon ship was not given until four hours after the fire had begun. Despite cabins filling with smoke, no alarm sounded. Some passengers also stated that the ferry’s crew provided little assistance.

Survivors described “scenes from hell” on board the burning ship, with the crew completely overwhelmed by the crisis and “the law of the jungle” prevailing on board. An orderly evacuation of the huge ferry proved impossible.

The Norman Atlantic was towed to the port of Brindisi, Italy, arriving on January 2, 2015. The ship continued to burn in port for almost two weeks until January 10, 2015, when firefighters were finally able to enter the hull to inspect the damage.

Recordings of the Voyage data recorder published on October 7, 2015, say that the fire sprinkler system wasn’t working correctly and, instead of spraying water, there was smoke coming from the system.

According to investigations, there was a truck whose engine was working, and smoke was detected coming from the truck prior to the fire breaking out.

A Turkish passenger reported that the fire could have been the result of illegal Afghan immigrants who had boarded the ship hidden in a lorry. Presumably, they lit a fire in the ship’s garage to keep themselves warm.

Alternatively, the fire could have also been caused by trucks scraping the sides of the vessel.