The stricken Caesarea Trader is to be towed to a port on the south coast of England for further assessment following yesterday’s fire.
The blaze broke out on board the DFDS-owned cargo vessel as she sailed from Jersey to Portsmouth on Monday.
The incident on board the ship – previously the Condor-owned Commodore Goodwill – was first reported at around 16:15, when the ship was anchored off the Isle of Wight coast. She remains at anchor in the same location more than 20 hours later.
It is understood the vessel, which left St Helier earlier in the afternoon, suddenly lost all power before a fire was discovered in the engine room.
Bembridge RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat was launched to the scene, supported by tug vessels dispatched from Portsmouth. A search and rescue helicopter was also sent to undertake thermal imaging.
In a statement issued on Monday evening, a DFDS spokesperson said: “We can confirm that Caesarea Trader experienced a fire in the engine room earlier today.
“All crew members and the one passenger who was travelling with the vessel are safe.
“The vessel is currently anchored in a safe location off the Isle of Wight, and the fire is under control.”
In a further statement this morning, DFDS said that the vessel remains safely anchored off the Isle of Wight and reiterated that all crew members and the one passenger on board are safe.
“The on-board situation is under control,” the update stated.
“DFDS is working with port authorities to bring the vessel into port at an appropriate time for further assessment.”
The firm explained that it had made arrangements to maintain freight connectivity to Jersey.
Guernsey’s freight is managed by Brittany Ferries and is unaffected by the fire on board the Caesarea Trader.