Εngineers aboard the Stena Scandica managed to restart two of the engines aboard the vessel, which experienced a fire on the vehicle deck and caused the ship to black out.
As the situation had become tense, maritime authorities begun an emergency evacuation while waiting for a tug that had been dispatched to tow the vessel.
The fire was reported as the ferry was sailing just north of the Swedish island of Gotland in the Baltic. Stena confirmed that a fire had broken out on the vehicle deck of the vessel.
No injuries have been reported.
The fire caused the ferry to lose power and the Swedish Coast Guard said it anchor was not working. As a result, the ferry was drifting south toward Gotland at about 2 to 3 knots.
Three sea rescue vessels reach the scene, while three helicopters were deployedto assist with an evacuation. The Coast Guard has both an airplane and a rescue boat monitoring the situation as well as pilot boats from shore.
Moreover, the authorities asked the ferry Visby that was nearby to divert and standby in case an evacuation was required. A cargo ship also responded to the initial distress call.
However, the fire was successfully extinguished by the crew using the vessel’s onboard systems. Stena is reporting that it believes the fire began in the refrigeration unit of a truck on the vehicle deck.
After the fire was extinguished, Swedish authorities started an evacuation of the passengers from the ferry, but due to the rough seas they were only able to remove them by the helicopter.
About 25 people were flown across to the Visby, which had continued to standby.
