British ferry limps toward Norway

Posted 8:36AM on Saturday 18th May 2002 ( 23 years ago )

LONDON - A disabled ferry with 884 people aboard limped toward Norway on Saturday after its crew extinguished fires that broke out in the engine room overnight, causing it to lose power in the North Sea. Rescue helicopters, planes and ships from Britain and Norway scrambled to the burning ship late Friday, prepared to undertake a massive evacuation as the crew struggled to put out fires in the engine room and smokestack. The incident ended with only a few minor injuries, and the Princess of Scandinavia ferry resumed its journey early Saturday under its own power, the British Coast Guard said. The car ferry left the English port of Newcastle at about 5 p.m. Friday for an overnight voyage to Norway and Sweden. The fire started at about 10:30 p.m. and was extinguished two hours later, according to a statement from DFDS Seaways, the Danish owner of the vessel. A company spokesman said two passengers were treated for shock. He said there were no signs of panic during the incident, as passengers assembled on the decks to prepare for a possible evacuation. The crew restarted the ship at partial power and resumed the 230-nautical mile journey to Kristiansand, Norway at eight knots, said Fiona Warren, a Coast Guard official. The ship's normal cruising speed is about 25 knots, according to the company's Web site. It was not clear when the ferry would arrive; its scheduled arrival time in Norway was 9:15 a.m. Norway is one hour ahead of Britain. At the height of the drama, eight helicopters, a British warplane and a dozen ships raced toward the burning ferry. The coast guard said rescue helicopters were prepared to evacuate the ferry and carry its passengers to nearby oil rigs. The helicopters were drawn from the Royal Air Force, the Royal Navy, the oil rigs and Norway. The air force and coast guard also contacted the captain by radio to discuss the ship's firefighting equipment. The ferry was carrying 758 passengers and 126 crew members. After its stop in Norway, its final destination was Gothenburg, Sweden, with a 5:30 p.m. arrival time, according to a DFDS Seaways timetable. The ferry makes the trip twice a week. The shipping group, whose name is a Danish acronym for The United Steamship Company was founded in 1866. It operates overnight city to city cruises through much of northern Europe. The Princess of Scandinavia is 600 feet long, 88 feet wide and weighs 22,528 tons. It can carry 1534 passengers and 379 cars. It was built in 1976 and refurbished in 1991, according to the company's Web site. Information about DFDS Seaways' accident record was not immediately available. Some European Union officials have complained that regulations passed after European ferry disasters killed hundreds of people in the 1980s and '90s have not been adequately enforced. In Greece, 80 people died in September 2000 when the Express Samina ferry struck rocks and sank in the Aegean Sea. It was Greece's worst maritime disaster in 35 years. Earlier this month, EU Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio warned that tougher and simpler safety rules for ferry traffic were needed for all European nations. ``The continuous occurrence of ferry accidents demonstrates we need to urgently fill in these gaps and ensure consistency between the rules that apply in the European Union, irrespective of the flag of the ship,'' she said.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/5/202183