Fire and Rescue crews from the mainland attended reports of a fire in the engine room of the Wight Sun ferry this morning.
Five crews were called to the scene, where the engine room was sealed off and monitored via CCTV. The fire is now out and Wightlink report no injuries.
Wightlink said:
“Wightlink’s Lymington to Yarmouth service is currently suspended following a fire on board its ferry Wight Sky while in berth at Lymington earlier this morning.
“All customers and crew were disembarked safely with no injuries.”
The service is suspended and booked passengers are being diverted to the Portsmouth-Fishbourne route.
Just last month the ferry was taken out of service for urgent repairs, to replace a fuel injector in one of the engines.
Statement from Wightlink
A spokesperson from Wightlink said,
“There was an engine fire on board Wightlink’s 06:25 service from Yarmouth to Lymington this morning. The ferry, Wight Sky, had nine crew and 43 passengers on board. There were no injuries. The 17 vehicles on board the sailing disembarked at Lymington.
“Immediately after the alarm was raised on Wight Sky on arrival at Lymington, the Master activated the ship’s fire suppressant service which was effective.
“Wightlink has suspended the service between Lymington and Yarmouth but plans to resume sailings on the route on Sunday afternoon, subject to an inspection visit by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).
“All customers scheduled to travel on the route today and tomorrow have been notified and rebooked on Wightlink’s Portsmouth-Fishbourne service.
“The engine affected by the fire was brand new and installed on Wight Sky during refit this autumn by the manufacturers’ agent. Up until this morning, it had been in operation for 390 hours.”
Source: IWCP
