A Grimaldi Group-owned ro-ro vessel sank today off the coast of France, succumbing to a blaze that erupted almost two day ago.

A fire broke out in a container on the ship's weather deck on Sunday night into Monday morning that quickly spread to other boxes, forcing the crew to evacuate in a life boat at 0230 local time.

The vessel was en route from Hamburg to Casablanca, about 260 kilometres off northwest France's Finistere, at the time of the fire.