Fire damages 'Oscar Wilde' ferry

Irish Ferries has cancelled all sailings on its Rosslare to Cherbourg route following a fire to its cruise ferry Oscar Wilde last night.

The fire was discovered 40 minutes out to sea after the vessel departed from the A&P Shipyard at Falmouth, Cornwall in the UK where it had been in dry dock undergoing its annual overhaul.

The ship anchored two miles from port and the crew managed to suppress the fire in the ship’s generator room at around 7.20pm yesterday. All 113 crew were accounted for and uninjured.

The vessel was sailing to Ireland to resume services on the Rosslare to Cherbourg route this afternoon and there were no passengers on board at the time.

The cause of the fire is not yet known and Britain’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch is investigating.

The company said it has no estimate as to how long the investigation will take or the length of time the vessel will be out of service.

A spokesman for Irish Ferries told The Irish Times all sailings on the Rosslare to Cherbourg route will be cancelled until Wednesday at the earliest.

Irish Ferries said it is in contact with all intending passengers and freight customers for whom alternative arrangements are being made. It said it regrets the inconvenience caused to customers while the vessel is out of service.

The company also extend its thanks to the Captain and crew of the vessel for their “speedy and effective response” to the fire and to the UK coast guard, marine rescue and other outside agencies that provided assistance.

Irish Ferries has three other vessels operating between Ireland and Britain however the Oscar Wilde is the company’s sole vessel on the Ireland-France route.

The spokesman said he was not anticipating any knock-on effect for the crew. “The ship will come back into service; we will need the crew. I can’t envisage any focus being placed on them at this particular stage,” he said.

The Oscar Wilde is currently anchored in Falmouth Port having been towed back by tugs this morning.

The 31,914 tonnes vessel was purchased by Irish Ferries in 2007 and has been operating the Rosslare to Cherbourg routes since November of that year.