Fire forces vessel to divert course

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Fire forces vessel to divert course

The 1995-built passenger vessel Tariq Ibn Ziyad suffered a fire in its cargo hold on November 12, which forced the vessel to divert its heading to Majorca, according to the Ministry of Finance and Public Administrations of Balearic islands.

The fire started in the early morning hours while the 5125 dwt ship was sailing from the French port of Marseille to Algeria and forced the ship to stop at the Port d’Alcudia in North East Majorca.

The ferry was transporting 470 passengers, as well as more than 130 crew members, 29 of whom were treated for smoke inhalation at the port and three were moved to a hospital with non life-threatening injuries.

An unknown number of cars was also being transported aboard the ship, some of which were damaged.

AIS data provided by Marine Traffic shows that the vessel was moored at the North East Majorca’s port.

Another ferry, the 2004-built Tassili II, has been designated to carry the passengers and the cars from the affected vessel to their destination port of Algiers.

Relevant authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the incident.