A fire broke out in the Portonovi resort marina in Herceg Novi at around 18 p.m., and as Televizija Vijesti has learned, one of the luxury yachts anchored in the marina is on fire.
Zlatko Ćirović, commander of the Herceg Novi Protection and Rescue Service, which is participating in extinguishing the fire, told TV Vijesti that the primary goal is to prevent an ecological disaster, because there were eight thousand liters of oil in the burning yacht.
He said that he expects the fire to last for a few more hours, and that it is fortunate that no one was injured in this incident.
"Around 18 p.m. we received a report that a boat was on fire, and when we arrived, a yacht about thirty meters long was on fire, which was in the Portonovi marina. We went to the scene with two trucks and six members of the Protection Service, but the fire was already in the blazing stage in the interior area where there is easily flammable material, plastic and furniture," Ćirović told TV Vijesti.
He said they went inside and tried to contain the fire, but that it was impossible due to the heat and flames.
"We called two more vehicles and there were about twenty members of the Herceg Novi Protection and Rescue Service. We fought the fire from several sides, we tried to localize the fire, but we failed. At one point, we agreed with the marina workers to move the yachts nearby away from the one that was burning, and no other vessels were damaged. The yacht that was still burning had 8 liters of oil in it and we decided to take it out of the marina and try to extinguish it from the sea.
"Currently, a vehicle from Porto Montenegro is trying to suppress this large flame and our primary concern, if there is an oil spill, is to avoid an ecological disaster. That is why dams have been installed to prevent oil spills into the sea. The marina told us that the yacht was insured," Ćirović pointed out.
He added that this case shows that more attention should be paid to the protection system.
"Because what would happen if, God forbid, one of the cruisers that are now supposed to start arriving en masse caught fire," wondered the commander of the Herceg Novi Protection Service.
Ćirković confirmed to local media that they had given up on trying to extinguish the fire on the "Ramondi" because, as he said, it was impossible to do so with the available technical resources, given the nature and dimensions of the fire, or rather the composition of the materials from which the yacht was made.
He said it was more likely that the oil would burn up in the pyre of a burning yacht than reach the sea.
video: Sinisa Lukovic
As "Vijesti" has learned, the fire has engulfed the luxury motor yacht "Ramonda". This 30-meter long and 7-meter wide vessel sails under the flag of the small Caribbean island nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
According to unofficial information, the fire, which has since been localized but not completely extinguished, caused extensive material damage to the yacht.
At the invitation of colleagues from Herceg Novi, members of the Protection and Rescue Service of the Municipality of Tivat will join the firefighting operation on the yacht in Kumbor with the firefighting ship "Jovana" from Tivat's Porto Montenegro, "Vijesti" has learned.
Fire and rescue teams pulled the "Ramona" out of the Portonovi marina to prevent the fire, which had broken out again on the yacht, from spreading to other vessels in the marina.
Apparently, there is no help for a burning yacht and it will burn completely to the waterline and then sink.
Teams from the Maritime Safety and Port Management Authority of Montenegro are on standby to intervene in order to reduce the inevitable pollution of the sea from a possible spill of oil and other harmful substances from the now almost completely destroyed "Ramonda".
It is a fiberglass motor yacht of the "Magellano 30M" type, which is being serially built by the Italian shipbuilding company "Azimut - Benetti".
Since fiberglass and other similar materials are burning in front of Kumbor and Baošić, the concentration of smoke containing toxic substances has increased.
"Ramonda" is a yacht with a displacement of 136 tons, and can accommodate up to 10 passengers, who are cared for by five crew members.
Readers sent "Vijesti" several photos and videos from the scene.
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video: Sinisa Lukovic
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