Port or tanker
Grande America — fire, sinking and bunker spill
10–12 March 2019
Bay of Biscay, southwest of France
What happened
Fire broke out aboard the Italian-flagged vehicle and container carrier Grande America before it sank in the Bay of Biscay on 12 March. The vessel carried about 15,000 tonnes of cargo, including 860 tonnes of dangerous goods, and approximately 2,478 tonnes of bunker and lubricating oils. EMSA satellite imagery identified an oil spill and tracked containers and wreckage while the agency supported French response operations. This was an accidental maritime casualty, not an attack.
When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.
- Evidence
- Documented
- Confidence
- High
- Infrastructure
- Port or tanker
- Latitude
- 46.0700°
- Longitude
- -5.7800°
Attribution
Responsibility has not been established in the cited reporting.