An Irish passenger ferry is now back on course to France after engine problems left it drifting for more than four hours off the south coast of England.
The Celtic Link vessel, the Diplomat, which had 72 passengers and 33 crew on board, was en route from Rosslare in Co Wexford to Cherbourg in France when it broke down near Wolf Rock, west of the Cornish peninsular.
The Falmouth Coastguard sent out several tug boats and a lifeboat after it was alerted at 6am to ensure the 167-metre Bermuda flagged ferry stayed clear of the rocky coastline.
The roll-on/roll-off ferry was adrift for around four hours before the crew managed to restore power to one of the engines.
A spokeswoman for the Celtic Link ferry company confirmed the crew then restored full power to the 16,500-tonne as it was being brought into Falmouth Bay for repair work.
The vessel is due to get into Cherbourg at around midnight.
The Wexford-based company Celtic Link only recently began operating on the Rosslare to Cherbourg route. The company bought the passenger vessel, the Diplomat, from P&O ferries for around €10 million after it closed the shipping route last December.
The ferry - owned by six brothers from Kilmore Quay in Co Wexford - is now transporting passengers and freight from Rosslare port to France.
PA