SW-INC-0115SeaWise Incidents

Corsica - A 12-metre yacht caught fire at anchor off Corsica and sank

The sailing yacht was already fully ablaze when the SNSM reached her in Campomoro Bay; a gas bottle and about 80 litres of diesel fed the fire. The crew got off unaided and unhurt before the weakened boat sank.

verified · 1 sourceN
Vessel
Corsica39.4 ft · Sailing yacht
When
2026Mediterranean
Outcome
Sunk
Position
Campomoro Bay, off south-west Corsica, France
Sea area
Campomoro · Corsica
Coordinates
41.64°N, 8.80°EApproximate position
Summary

What happened.

On a Sunday afternoon in early February 2026, a 12-metre sailing yacht caught fire at anchor in Campomoro Bay, off south-west Corsica. By the time the SNSM arrived she was fully ablaze, the fire fed by a gas bottle and about 80 litres of diesel. The crew got off unaided and unhurt; the fire was brought under control after about an hour, but the weakened yacht sank.

On a Sunday afternoon in early February 2026, a fire broke out aboard a 12-metre sailing yacht lying at anchor in Campomoro Bay, on the south-west coast of Corsica. The alert reached emergency services shortly before 5 p.m. By the time rescuers from the SNSM station at Propriano arrived, the yacht was already completely engulfed in flames, the blaze intensified by a gas bottle and roughly 80 litres of diesel stored on board. The crew managed to get off the boat on their own before help arrived and were brought to safety with no casualties. After about an hour of firefighting the blaze was brought under control, but the yacht, structurally weakened by the fire, eventually sank.

ConditionsAt anchor in Campomoro Bay, SW Corsica, a Sunday afternoon in early February 2026 (alert just before 17:00). The fire was fed by an onboard gas bottle and about 80 litres of diesel; the SNSM station at Propriano responded and found the 12 m yacht fully ablaze. The crew left the boat themselves before rescuers arrived and were unhurt. The fire was controlled after about an hour, but the weakened yacht sank. Date approximate.
SeaWise noteA boat fire is fast and unforgiving, and the things that make it unfightable — a gas cylinder, tens of litres of diesel — are aboard every cruising yacht. This crew did the one thing that always matters: they got themselves off, unhurt, before the fire trapped them. The hull was lost, and that is the right trade. Know your shut-offs and extinguishers, but never let saving the boat cost you the exit.
Lessons learned

What it teaches.

  • 1
    A boat fire grows in seconds — fight it only while you can do so safely. This 12 m yacht was fully ablaze before help arrived, the fire fed by a gas bottle and 80 litres of diesel. Know where your extinguishers and fuel and gas shut-offs are, and never let firefighting block your way off the boat.
    fire
  • 2
    Getting everyone off a burning boat is the win. The crew here left the yacht themselves before rescuers arrived and walked away unhurt; the boat later sank. Lives over hull — once a fire is beyond control, abandon early with lifejackets and a means to signal for help.
    fire abandon ship
  • 3
    Stow gas and fuel to limit what a fire can feed on. A gas bottle and 80 litres of diesel turned this fire unfightable. Keep cylinders secured with the valve shut when not in use, stow and vent fuel properly, and fit a gas alarm and a remote shut-off where you can reach it.
    fire prep to sail
Sources

Where this comes from.

News· EU/Med sailing newsVIDÉO. « Le voilier était entièrement embrasé » : un bateau de 12 mètres, ravagé par un incendie, sombre en CorseVisit ↗

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From SeaWise

Procedures involved.

ProcedurePrimary

Fire

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Record IDSW-INC-0115
Curated bySeaWise editorial
Confidenceverified · 1 source
Record typeIncident

About SeaWise records: We catalogue sailing emergencies with structured metadata and link to primary sources rather than republishing them. Individual crew names are anonymised by default— sources we link to may name them publicly; SeaWise refers to roles ("the skipper", "the crew") on our pages. Submitter identities are always private.