A fire at Bodrum’s Yalıkavak Marina in Turkey caused an estimated $100 million in damage, sinking seven luxury yachts and partially damaging another. The blaze broke out in the early hours aboard a motor yacht moored at the marina, rapidly spreading to nearby vessels under strong winds. m.
on the motor yacht “Sisu” following an explosion of undetermined cause. Emergency teams responded from land and sea, with a large number of fire, police, and medical teams dispatched. During firefighting, teams faced challenges due to wind, with operations supported by KIYEM-6 fast rescue and firefighting boats.
The fire was brought under control thanks to intense efforts, and Bodrum Mayor Tamer Mandalinci, Bodrum Coast Guard Station Commander Raşit Gödelek, and Bodrum Regional Port Authority President Tuncay Aydın arrived at the scene. According to initial assessments, seven motor yachts measuring between 20 and 24 meters were completely destroyed and sank, while one vessel sustained partial damage. Marina authorities confirmed a technical investigation into the cause has been launched, with officials yet to determine whether it resulted from mechanical failure, human error, or other factors.
” In Sydney, Australia, firefighters fought a major blaze at The Spit Marina in Mosman, where three luxury yachts were lost to the flames and one yacht was severely damaged. A team of 40 firefighters rushed to the scene after one yacht caught fire, and four people on board where the fire originated were evacuated, with one woman sent to the hospital due to smoke inhalation. It took firefighters two-and-a-half hours to put out the flames.
Some waste from the fire included oil and fuel from the yachts, which can stick to wildlife and cause respiratory and reproductive complications in affected animals. Harmful chemicals released into the water will have serious environmental consequences, threatening local marine life. The Spit Marina can hold vessels up to about 50 meters, but it is not yet confirmed whether any damaged boats were superyachts.
A fire ripped through a speedboat named Tequila in Ao Makham Bay, Phuket, Thailand, with huge flames and one person missing and five injured. Emergency crews battled the inferno around 10:30 am local time, with thick smoke rising from the boat off Coco Pier. People jumped into the water to help those on board after the fire engulfed the vessel, which was undergoing engine repairs at a pier.
Workers jumped into the water to help untie the boat and drag those onboard to safety, while a tour guide who tried to help went missing. Another boat dragged the burning vessel into open water away from the dock. Authorities confirmed no tourists were onboard, but the tour guide, Komphet Wanadee, 24, is missing after jumping from the burning vessel.
Five crew members suffered minor injuries and were rushed to nearby hospitals. The Phuket City Administrative Office reported five people rescued and transported to the hospital, with one 24-year-old man still being searched for. The boat was towed away to prevent the fire from spreading, with the fire under control by the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation's fire boat.
Initially, the cause is believed to have been an explosion on the boat. Officials have cordoned off the area as divers search for the missing tour guide. The fire broke out just days before the passenger's insurance policy was set to expire on April 10.
On January 7, more than 20 speedboats were damaged in a fire at Chalong Pier, Phuket, believed to have started on a leisure vessel before winds fanned it toward neighboring vehicles. In Sweden, a fire occurred in a boat at Hinsholmskilens harbor in Långedrag, with the smell of burnt plastic hanging over the area. The rescue service was alerted to the fire about twelve hours before the report, with the first crew encountering meter-high flames.
The alarm about the fire came at 21:29 on Wednesday evening. The fire started in one boat and spread to an adjacent one, posing a significant spread risk due to the boats being closely packed. The firefighting was challenging due to intense heat development, with petroleum in the plastic making it burn like gasoline, and the boats were on supports risking collapse and danger to personnel.
Foam residues on the ground testify to the firefighting efforts. Police are investigating the incident as aggravated arson, with no suspect yet and no clear picture of the exact sequence of events. According to police, five boats were damaged, three extensively.
Police cannot rule out that the fire was deliberately set, as it has not been linked to negligence or an accident, but it is still under investigation. Police are conducting a technical investigation behind barriers, photographing damages on two plastic boats that were completely or partially destroyed. Three additional boats were damaged in the fire.
Jonny Sjöstrand's boat was parked next to the two that burned, and he checked on it after his son alerted him. His Sessa 35 boat survived with soot on the cabin but no burn damage. His boat had a break-in last year, indicating previous incidents at the location.
In Tauranga, New Zealand, a fire at the marina in Tauranga Harbour at Sulphur Point disrupted operations. The marina is the Bay’s largest marina and haul-out facility, with more than 550 berths. 20am on Thursday.
At the height of the response, five fire trucks and three support vehicles were fighting the blaze, with eight crews from Tauranga, Mount Maunganui, and Greerton stations attending. 40am, and a fire investigator assigned to determine the cause, which has not yet been determined. The marina had been rebuilding Pier D and E, but resources had to be reallocated to repairs after the fire.
The pier was damaged, but due to ongoing upgrades, it would not take long to fix. The fire was the first incident of this kind since the marina opened in 1982. Owners of boats need to contact their insurance companies, and the marina must contact theirs, with strict insurance criteria for marina members.
In the United States, a fire erupted on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier during maintenance at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Virginia, injuring three American sailors. The fire was small, immediately contained and extinguished by ship's force and Norfolk Navy Shipyard personnel.
The three injured sailors were treated by the ship's medical team and returned to full duty. The aircraft carrier has been docked at the Navy's publicly operated Virginia-based shipyard for 16 months. In a separate incident, a large fire erupted on a barge laden with scrap metal in the Delaware Bay, prompting a swift response from emergency services.
S. , dispatching a helicopter and two boats, with local fire departments also joining. The unmanned barge was being moved by a tugboat when the fire broke out, with no injuries reported.
Several hours later, the fire continued to burn, but ship traffic was unaffected, with boats using water cannons on the burning metal piles. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Off the coast of Dun Laoghaire, Ireland, four people were rescued after a vessel caught fire and sank.
5 miles off the coast. A lifeboat from Dun Laoghaire RNLI reached the scene minutes later and successfully evacuated the four adults, bringing them safely to shore. Police, the Dun Laoghaire All Weather Lifeboat, Dublin Port tug, and Dublin Fire Brigade attended the scene.
The fire was reported extinguished shortly after 5pm, and the vessel subsequently sank. In Solna, Sweden, a fire alarm was raised just before lunch regarding heavy smoke development at Pampas marina, with the smoke coming from a small electric ferry. To reduce the risk of spread, the rescue service chose to tow the boat out of the small boat harbor.
Because smoke is still coming from the electric boat, the rescue service has now towed the electric boat to a nearby beach. Initially, brunch guests and staff at a nearby restaurant in the harbor were evacuated. Police were on site together with the rescue service, with police having no suspicion of crime regarding the fire.
The electric ferry is owned by the Norwegian company Torghatten, but it was not in traffic. During the day, the rescue service is expected to hand over responsibility to the owner and insurance company. In Brighton, UK, fire crews tackled a blaze at Brighton Marina after a fire broke out on a boat at West Jetty Marina just before 04:00 GMT.
East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service had four vehicles at the scene, advising nearby residents to keep windows and doors closed and others to avoid the area. At 07:15 GMT, fire crews left the scene after handing the situation back to marina staff. The cause of the fire was said to be accidental.
In Norway, smoke development on a leisure boat at Sletta verft was caused by a short circuit that melted some wires, with heat but no open flames. One worker in the room when this was discovered was checked by ambulance personnel. It was a service boat that had been docked for conversion.
Smoke divers from the fire department went through the battery room on the boat. All emergency services are concluding at the site, and no case is being created by the police. In Sweden, SOS Alarm received an alarm at 16:30 on Wednesday about a suspected fire on an island in Lake Dovern south of Finspång, with persons seeing smoke from an island.
The rescue service is going to check the suspected fire on the island. The rescue service was also alerted about a boat burning near Herstaberg. Response efforts across these incidents have highlighted challenges faced by emergency services, from intense heat and wind conditions to environmental containment.
Damage assessments are ongoing, with insurance implications for boat owners and marina operators. Operational status varies, with investigations into causes continuing in multiple locations. The exact causes of many fires remain unknown.
Marine Industry News covers fires on boats, superyachts, maritime vessels, and on-shore facilities like marinas, including active investigations and safety updates.