Passenger Ferry Burning, Towed to Norfolk Naval Station, Hampton Roads
NOAA initial notification: “On June 7, 2022, the NOAA SSC was notified of an engine room fire onboard the SPIRIT OF NORFOLK, a popular passenger ferry utilized for tours and dinners within Hampton Roads. All 108 passengers and crew onboard were evacuated and all persons have been accounted for. Tugs were […]”[1]
Latest included source report
Posted 8 Jun 2022
Latest source report
“News Release Spirit of Norfolk Unified Command Contact: Kelly Wirfel Phone: (757) 438-4245 Unified Command continues response to Spirit of Norfolk salvage operations PORTSMOUTH, Va. — A Unified Command was established to Tuesday evening in response to the fire aboard the Spirit of Norfolk and continues firefighting and salvage operations, Wednesday. The Unified Command […]” Current outcome is not independently verified by seahazards.[3]
NOAA report chronology
3 dated source records · 7 Jun 2022 to 8 Jun 2022NOAA incident record opened
Initial notification excerpt: “On June 7, 2022, the NOAA SSC was notified of an engine room fire onboard the SPIRIT OF NORFOLK, a popular passenger ferry utilized for tours and dinners within Hampton Roads. All 108 passengers and crew onboard were evacuated and all persons have been accounted for. Tugs were attempting to extinguish the fire with installed water cannons and it was towed to Norfolk Naval Station. The fire is contained to the engine room and the vessel is currently moored at Pier 4, Norfolk Naval Station. Just before 4pm it was reported that all firefighting personnel have been removed from the vessel as it was listing and is now reported to be sinking at the pier. The USCG requested trajectory for […]”
NOAA approximate incident area; not a vessel track
Initial incident area only. Dates are NOAA postings, not a vessel track. Playback advances every 5 seconds.
Milestone 1 of 3: 7 Jun 2022. NOAA incident record opened. NOAA approximate incident area; not a vessel track
NOAA incident record opened
Initial notification excerpt: “On June 7, 2022, the NOAA SSC was notified of an engine room fire onboard the SPIRIT OF NORFOLK, a popular passenger ferry utilized for tours and dinners within Hampton Roads. All 108 passengers and crew onboard were evacuated and all persons have been accounted for. Tugs were attempting to extinguish the fire with installed water cannons and it was towed to Norfolk Naval Station. The fire is contained to the engine room and the vessel is currently moored at Pier 4, Norfolk Naval Station. Just before 4pm it was reported that all firefighting personnel have been removed from the vessel as it was listing and is now reported to be sinking at the pier. The USCG requested trajectory for […]”
NOAA approximate incident area; not a vessel track (36.940°, -76.334°)
Initial report for Spirit of Norfolk Fire 7 June 2022
Source report excerpt: “NOAA SSC was notified of an engine room fire onboard the SPIRIT OF NORFOLK, a popular passenger ferry utilized for tours and dinners within Hampton Roads. All 108 passengers and crew onboard were evacuated and all persons have been accounted for. Tugs were attempting to extinguish the fire with installed water cannons and it was towed to Norfolk Naval Station. The fire is contained to the engine room and the vessel is currently moored at Pier 4, Norfolk Naval Station. Just before 4pm it was reported that all firefighting personnel have been removed from the vessel as it was listing and is now reported to be sinking at the pier. There is significant local media interest. USCG requested […]”
USCG Press release
Source report excerpt: “News Release Spirit of Norfolk Unified Command Contact: Kelly Wirfel Phone: (757) 438-4245 Unified Command continues response to Spirit of Norfolk salvage operations PORTSMOUTH, Va. — A Unified Command was established to Tuesday evening in response to the fire aboard the Spirit of Norfolk and continues firefighting and salvage operations, Wednesday. The Unified Command consists of: U.S. Coast Guard Naval Station Norfolk City Cruises Virginia Department of Emergency Management/Department of Environmental Quality The City of Norfolk, Port of Virginia, and NOAA are supporting the Unified Command. Crews are continuing firefighting measures to extinguish the fire. Due to ongoing firefighting […]”
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Details in the record
- Source record
- NOAA IncidentNews 10468[1]
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Automatically assembled from NOAA's incident record and substantive Public Affairs or Situation Update posts. Dates are NOAA posting dates, which can differ from when events happened or original reports were published. Excerpts retain the source's wording and uncertainty. This account does not independently establish the cause, current outcome or safety of the area. NOAA coverage is selective; missing updates do not mean nothing happened. The map shows one approximate incident area, not a vessel track.
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Original sources
Timeline updated 6 Sept 2026. New reports and changes to this NOAA incident are incorporated automatically; this is not a live incident feed.
- 1.Passenger Ferry Burning, Towed to Norfolk Naval Station, Hampton Roads ↗NOAA Office of Response and Restoration · 7 Jun 2022
- 2.Initial report for Spirit of Norfolk Fire 7 June 2022 ↗NOAA IncidentNews · source report archive · 7 Jun 2022
- 3.USCG Press release ↗NOAA IncidentNews · source report archive · 8 Jun 2022
Related records in our archive
Original source text, preserved separately from this account.
NOAAORR-10468 NOAA response record
Passenger Ferry Burning, Towed to Norfolk Naval Station, Hampton Roads. Norfolk, Va. 1. On June 7, 2022, the NOAA SSC was notified of an engine room fire onboard the SPIRIT OF NORFOLK, a popular passenger ferry utilized for tours and dinners within Hampton Roads. All 108 passengers and crew onboard were evacuated and all persons have been accounted for. Tugs were attempting to extinguish the fire with installed water cannons and it was towed to Norfolk Naval Station. The fire is contained to the engine room and the vessel is currently moored at Pier 4, Norfolk Naval Station. Just before 4pm it was reported that all firefighting personnel have been removed from the vessel as it was listing and is now reported to be sinking at the pier. The USCG requested trajectory for potential spill of 5800 gallons of diesel. 2. THREAT: OIL. COMMODITY: DIESEL. MAXIMUM POTENTIAL RELEASE: 5800 GALLONS. 3. POSITION 36.940N 076.334W. NOAA INCIDENTNEWS 10468: https://incidentnews.noaa.gov/incident/10468Open record and warning history →
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