Harbour Team staff from the City Council have described a fire that destroyed the Starcross ferry, Princess Marina, as a “sad day for the river.”
Harbour Team staff from the City Council have described a fire that destroyed the Starcross ferry, Princess Marina, as a “sad day for the river.”
The popular ferry caught fire on Wednesday (27 November), but thankfully, nobody was on board or injured in the incident, which took place opposite the pier in Starcross. Unfortunately, the vessel will need to be disposed of due to the extent of the damage caused by the flames.
Grahame Forshaw, Harbourmaster, expressed his gratitude to all those involved in assisting during the incident, particularly the RNLI, Fire and Rescue Service, HM Coastguard, and Simon Turl Moorings.
“On our arrival at the scene, Simon Turl was already there with members of the Fire and Rescue Service on his vessel, fighting the fire. The Exmouth lifeboat arrived shortly afterwards with additional Fire and Rescue members, as well as pumps and hoses. They took over the firefighting efforts.
“Once the fire was well under control, the vessel was towed by Port Authority staff to a safer location in case of sinking. Fire crews continued to douse and cool the vessel from the Port Authority boat.
“Once the vessel was secure and emergency services stood down, our staff ensured the vessel was made safe and took steps to prevent any contamination of the river. This was an excellent team effort by all those involved, but it was a sad day for the river, and our thoughts are with the owners.”
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