All of the passengers and crew who were trapped on Stena ferry bound from the Scottish port of Stranraer to Belfast in Stranraer have been safely removed by emergency services.
Many of the passengers were winched ashore. The last of the passengers came ashore shortly after midnight last night.
The 189 passengers and crew were being removed last night by a fire service platform to the dockside. They were being bussed to a local hotel or offered passage on another ferry from Cairnryan to Belfast. Vehicles are to be taken off once the lorry is removed.
The Stena HSS Voyager was forced to return to Stranraer about 90 minutes after leaving port. Given the situation of the lorry, however, the ferry could not be properly berthed, meaning that passengers were unable to disembark.
All Stena sailings between Stranraer and Belfast were cancelled yesterday. The lorry was carrying ferrous sulphate powder but it is understood that there was no leakage. The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency said the powder would not endanger health, even if any of the substance had escaped.
Those stranded on board were given blankets and food pending their departure from the stricken vessel.
The Coast Guard was alerted after passengers said they heard a loud bang. A spokesman for Stena confirmed that nobody had been injured and any damage to the ferry was comfortably above the water line. “The ship was quickly stabilised and no one on board was injured,” he said.