At the time of the fire there were an estimated 475 people on board the ship including 417 passengers, 55 crew and at least three illegal immigrants.

[3] On 29 August 2014, she made her final voyage with LD Lines, from Rosslare, County Wexford, Ireland to Saint-Nazaire, Loire-Atlantique, France and Gijón, Asturias, Spain.

[1] At this time, the ship was thought to be carrying 222 vehicles, 417 passengers and 55 crew although later investigations would uncover the presence of at least six stowaways.

[1] The second mate, who was in command at the time, sent a seaman to investigate the alarm but there was no sign of a fire, just fumes being emitted from a truck refrigeration unit.

[1] The captain, from his position on the bridge, was able to observe flames coming from the windows on Deck 4 and ordered the fire drencher system to be activated.

[1] Later investigation revealed that the drencher had been activated on Deck 3, rather than in the area of the fire perhaps due to confusing labelling on the valves.

[1] Passengers gathered on the port side and began to embark on the lifeboat and life rafts, despite the captain not ordering an evacuation at this time.

[20] The heat from the fire permeated the entire ship, even starting to melt people's shoes on the reception deck.

The firefighting tugboat Marietta Barretta was able to attach a line to the ferry and turn it into the wind, enabling helicopters to begin operating.

[28] Three of the rescued people who were on board the Norman Atlantic were Afghan illegal immigrants who stowed aboard in lorries in the hold.

Among those killed was Ilia Kartozia, a Georgian Orthodox priest, who, according to an eyewitness, helped others to evacuate, but the rescuers failed to save him.

[29] Norman Atlantic was towed to the port of Brindisi, Italy, by the Marietta Barretta and two additional tugs, Tenax and Asmara, arriving there on 2 January 2015.

[32] The Norman Atlantic continued to burn in port for almost two weeks until 10 January 2015, when firefighters were finally able to enter the hull for inspection.

The hull plating and deck had been deformed, all communication and navigation equipment was destroyed and the accommodation and common areas were gutted.

[39] The ship had been inspected at Patras, Greece on 19 December; six serious deficiencies had been found, relating to emergency lighting, fire doors and lifesaving capacity onboard the vessel.

[30] Rear Admiral John Lang, formerly Chief Inspector at Britain's Marine Accident Investigation Branch, said the emergency, under freezing stormy conditions at night "challenges many of the established conventions and wisdom on how a mass rescue should be conducted."