Wight Sky Passenger Ferry Hit by Fire

M/V Wight Sky RoRO ferry suffered a fire while in berth at Lymington, Hampshire, England, on Friday morning, the ship’s operator Wightlink confirmed.

“All customers and crew disembarked the ship safely, with no injuries,” the company said, adding that as a result, the company’s service from Lymington to Yarmouth, Isle of Wight was suspended.

“We have started an investigation into a machinery space fire on board the ro-ro passenger ferry Wight Sky while at the entrance to Lymington River, Hampshire earlier today,” Marine Accident Investgation Branch (MAIB) said.

The vessel has experienced three fires over the recent period. In September 2017, the ro-ro passenger ferry suffered a failure of one of its main propulsion engines, followed by a fire, while it was approaching Yarmouth, Isle of Wight.

The fire was brought under control shortly, but the vessel’s engineer, who had been standing near the engine, suffered serious burn injuries to his hands and face.

An investigation conducted by UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) established that the debris in the engine’s oil channels caused a catastrophic engine failure and subsequent fire.

In addition, in August this year the vessel was out of service due to a technical problem caused by the ships engine room fire.

World Maritime News Staff