Blue Carrier 2 abandoned after vehicle-deck fire north of Mykonos
All 29 people on the Attica Group RoRo left by lifeboat; the ship is listing to starboard under tow off Tinos
The Greek RoRo cargo ferry Blue Carrier 2 was abandoned north of Mykonos on the morning of 25 September after a fire in one of her vehicle decks spread beyond the crew's control. All 29 people aboard, 28 crew and one truck driver, left in two lifeboats and were landed at Tinos. The Hellenic Coast Guard reported no injuries.
The fire was reported at 08:57. It started in garage No. 4, probably on a truck, and spread to large parts of the ship. The vessel was carrying 166 trucks and 29 cars on a domestic freight run that links Piraeus, Syros, Vathy on Samos, Kos and Rhodes, and was sailing from Syros towards Samos. Some of the trucks were loaded with supermarket goods, including meat, dairy products and cheese.
Firefighting vessels and tugs responded, and a towline was placed on the ship. The salvage tug Aigaion Pelagos arrived that afternoon and has led the water-dropping and cooling work since. By Saturday morning the fire was partially contained, but the volume of water used to cool overheated steel plates had given the ship a slight list to starboard. The next step is to pump that water out to restore stability, after which a specialised team is to board, inspect the decks where the fire started and decide how to proceed. Whether and where she is towed to port will be decided with the Coast Guard and the Fire Department.
Blue Carrier 2 is 162 metres long and 9,655 dwt and was built in Japan in 1997. She sailed as Clementine for Cobelfret Ferries under CLDN Ferries before Attica Group bought her in July 2023; she was renamed in January 2024 and has since run in Greek domestic freight service under the Blue Star Ferries brand. Attica said it has appointed a specialised company and is working with the authorities.
The Coast Guard is investigating the cause, which has not been established. The Panhellenic Seamen's Federation said the fire could not be dealt with by the ship's own means or by the boats that came to help, and credited the master, officers and crew with following the rules for protecting life at sea so that no one was hurt.
This story is part of the Maritime Briefing of 28 September 2026.
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