Displaying items by tag: Small fire

4th March 2023

Irish Ferries Vessel has 'Small Fire' On Strait of Dover Service

Dublin based operator, Irish Ferries has confirmed that one of its UK-France service ferries had encountered difficulties yesterday (3 March) evening following a small fire that broke out on board at 5.30pm.

The ferry company in a statement said the crew on board the 163m long Isle of Innisfree "were alerted to a small fire in the ship's engine room while the ship was sailing from Dover to Calais".

The 199I built ferry is one of three that Irish Ferries operate on the English Channel and where the 28,838 gross tonnage ferry had departed the port in Kent at 5pm.

The statement added that its crews train regularly to deal with incidents at sea and "the fire has now been extinguished".

At the time of the incident the Cypriot flagged Isle of Innisfree was carrying 94 passengers and 89 crew and that all are safe and accounted for.

The UK coastguard was informed and dispatched three lifeboats as a precautionary measure.

More from RTE News on the ferry that arrived safely into Calais after a tug according to BBC News had towed the ferry into port.

Afloat adds that while the Isle of Innisfree is off service, the route is reduced from three ferries down to a just a single ship the Isle of Inishmore. This is because Irish Ferries third Dover-Calais vessel, Isle of Inisheer is away for dry-docking at Harland & Wolff, Belfast.

Isle of Innisfree is no stranger to the Strait of Dover having served originally as Prins Philip for Belgium operator, RMT on the Dover-Ostende route.

Since 1992 the ferry has changed ownership several times until the Irish company acquired the ferry from DFDS, a rival on the French route also served by P&O Ferries.

Published in Irish Ferries

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Coronavirus (COVID-19): Irish Sailing & Boating

Since restrictions began in March 2020, the Government is preparing for a 'controlled and gradual return to sport' and the 2020 sailing fixtures are being tentatively redrafted by yacht clubs, rowing clubs angling and diving clubs across Ireland as the country enters a new phase in dealing with the Coronavirus. The hope is that a COVID-19 restrictions might be eased by May 5th as Sport Ireland has asked national governing bodies for information on the challenges they face.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) information

COVID-19 is a new illness that can affect your lungs and airways. It's caused by a virus called coronavirus.

To help stop the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) everyone has been asked to stay at home. But some people may need to do more than this.

You may need to either:

You do these things to stop other people from getting coronavirus.

Restricted movements

Everybody in Ireland has been asked to stay at home. You should only go out for a few reasons, such as shopping for food.

But you need to restrict your movements further if you:

live with someone who has symptoms of coronavirus, but you feel well

are a close contact of a confirmed case of coronavirus

have returned to Ireland from another country

You need to restrict your movements for at least 14 days.

But if the person you live with has had a test and it is negative, you don't need to wait 14 days. You should still follow the advice for everyone - stay at home as much as possible.

Close contact

This is only a guide but close contact can mean:

spending more than 15 minutes of face-to-face contact within 2 metres of an infected person

living in the same house or shared accommodation as an infected person

How to restrict your movements

Follow the advice for everybody - stay at home.