New Benetti catches fire

Yesterday morning (Aug. 20) at its shipyard in Livorno, Italy, the 185-foot (56m) Benetti FB261 in the final stages of construction caught fire and partially sank. The fire began about 7 a.m. in the Morosini dock area, most probably because of a lightning storm, Benetti said in a statement.

“This exceptional weather condition most probably provoked an unexpected strong electricity discharge/spike on board,” the builder said.

The fire was extinguished 10 hours later. No one was injured.