According to an article in the Greek newspaper Ethnos tis Kyriakis, the reason why Eleftherios Venizelos ferry was set on fire, a few weeks ago, was a short-circuit in a motor of a truck that was parked inside the ferry’s garage.

According to sources in the Hellenic Coast-Guard who spoke to the newspaper, the temperature of the engine of this truck reached 500 degrees Celsius (932 degrees Fahrenheit). As a result, the fire reached the nearby vehicles and in less than 4 minutes the situation was uncontrollable.

What stopped the fire from spreading to higher levels of the ferry was the good condition in which the ferry was in and its fire safety system.

The same sources told the newspaper that if the vessel wasn’t properly maintained, the fire would have spread to the entire ferry, causing an unimaginable tragedy.

Source: http://greece.greekreporter.com/category/greek-news/tourism/