Department seeks report on fire on board Stena ferry

The Minister for the Marine has asked for a report on a fire which temporarily suspended Stena HSS sailings between Dun Laoghaire and Holyhead yesterday. Stena will decide today if the Stena Explorer needs to be taken out of service for repairs.

The fire, which developed in the casing of one of the four gas turbine engines, was detected at about 5.40 a.m. yesterday when the vessel was 20 minutes out from Dun Laoghaire on its regular 4.10 a.m. run from Holyhead. It is understood that the fire broke out in an engine or an exhaust casing located near the car deck. The engine was shut down and the Dun Laoghaire fire brigade service called to the harbour.

Passengers travelling with vehicles were asked to disembark and not to collect their vehicles until the fire brigade and marine inspectors had given the all clear. There were 174 passengers, 25 cars and nine pieces of freight on board when the fire broke out.

Inspectors from the Department of the Marine were called out immediately and the 6.40 a.m. sailing was cancelled. Arriving pas sengers were transferred to Dublin Port for a ferry to Holyhead. After two hours, passengers were al lowed to reclaim their vehicles. The vessel eventually returned to Holyhead at 12.30 p.m. yesterday with passengers. The afternoon and last night's services were running two hours behind schedule.

Stena Line spokesman Mr Eamonn Hewitt yesterday said the fire was localised, was contained as part of the vessel's emergency procedures and was extinguished before the ferry docked. The fire brigade had been notified in advance of the docking as normal procedure in these circumstances, he added.

Mr Carl Williams and Mr Darren Piper of Rhyl in north Wales had booked a return trip to avail of the duty-free shopping facilities. "We heard seven blasts of a horn - the alarm - and the crew asked everyone to return to their seats. Next they asked us to move to one side of the boat," said Mr Williams, who added that at no stage did they think their lives were in danger.

However both men were concerned that they had been upstairs in the ferry terminal when the bus came to take them to Dublin Port for the return journey by conventional ferry. "We came down from the canteen about 8.30 a.m. and the guy who said we would be told when the bus came just looked at us and said: `Are you still here?' "

Mr Williams and Mr Piper said they were disappointed that they would not get back to Rhyl until late afternoon and did not want to be transferred to Dublin Port as "it's 3 1/2 hours that way".

Foot passengers and those with vehicles arriving for the sailing to Holyhead at 11.10 a.m. were initially diverted to Dublin Port but at 10.50 a.m., Stena announced that boarding could begin.

Mr Stephen Longridge and Ms Eve Post, originally from Canada but living in London, said they had spent a good holiday in Dublin and had seen Temple Bar. They did not mind a short delay. Also over for a short break from London were South Africans Ms Robyn Hall, Mr Rodney Kleingeld and Ms Melanie Smethurst, who had been in Dublin since Friday.

Foreigners in London talked a lot about a trip to Dublin, Mr Kleingeld said, as it was seen as "fun and near".

A spokesman for the Department of the Marine said that one of their most senior inspectors had been sent to inspect the vessel. "We have first call on whether it sails. If we give the OK, then it is up to Stena whether it sails or it takes it out of service."

A spokesman for the Stena Call Centre in Kent, England, said a decision would not be taken until today on whether the ship needed to be taken out of service briefly for repairs.