Grimaldi’s Conro Grande Brasile was towed to port after a fire in the English Channel. The crew evacuated safely as salvage tugs brought the ship to Antwerp. Boskalis’ Smit unit oversaw the operation, with scorching visible near the funnel. Another fire on Grande Congo raised concerns, prompting changes in handling hazardous cargo.
The Port of Antwerp-Bruges has recently added six new energy-efficient tugs to its fleet, including Europe’s first fully-electric RSD tugboat. These tugs, constructed by Damen in Vietnam, were carefully tested before being delivered to Belgium. The electric tugboat, named Volta 1, boasts impressive maneuverability and a bollard pull of 70 tons.
A container fire containing highly toxic yellow phosphorus at the Port of Antwerp prompted evacuations and a 12-hour halt in operations. The MPET terminal, DP World facility, and a ship were evacuated, with vessel traffic temporarily halted. Emergency services, along with BASF and port authorities, worked to secure the container. Operations resumed after the container was relocated to a safe area.
