A fire that erupted aboard a Stena Line ferry on Monday while it was carrying passengers and vehicles across the Baltic Sea has been fully extinguished, owner Stena Line said.
A fire broke out on the 35,456-gt Stena Scandica (built 2005) at 12:29pm (1029 GMT) while it was en route from Port of Norvik in Sweden to Port of Ventspils in Latvia, carrying 241 passengers and 58 crew.
The crew put out the fire, which was isolated to a truck’s cooling container on the car deck, using the extinguishing system onboard.
“We can confirm that the fire is extinguished, and we have no injuries reported. All passengers have been cared for and they are currently in an allocated area,” spokesman Stefan Ulstrom said in a statement.
“The safety and well-being of them and our crew is our main priority.”
The vessel has lost power as a result of the fire, but the crew is trying to restore it with help from the owner.
“The vessel’s emergency power generator is active and the vessel will remain safe in its present location,” Ulstrom said.
“There is no need to evacuate at this moment.”
Stena Line has informed the Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) of the incident and is receiving “full support” from the agency, he said.
A tugboat is on its way to support the vessel back to an initial stop at Gotland, Sweden, which has been put on standby for further support if needed.
Stena Line’s 32,500-gt Visby (built 2018) is also in close proximity to the Stena Scandica, Ulstrom said.
The vessel is expected to arrive back at Nynashamn, Sweden early Tuesday morning, at which time Stena Line will have personnel in place to ensure that passengers and crew get the help they need.
“There will be a support team in place to support our customer, and equally we’ll rebook passengers and freight as soon as possible,” Elstrom said.
The Danish-flagged Stena Scandica is classed by Lloyd’s Register and has protection and indemnity cover from Norway’s Gard.
This story has been amended since publication to reflect that the Stena Scandica is classed by Lloyd’s Register.
