Crew member airlifted to hospital after fire broke out on board ship in Immingham

Crew member airlifted to hospital after fire broke out on board ship in Immingham
Peter Craig 21 APR 2018 https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/news/grimsby-news/crew-member-airlift...

A crew member on board a ferry in the North Sea had to be airlifted to hospital after a fire in the engine room.

Emergency services were alerted at around 10pm on Tuesday when a fire broke out in the engine room on board Finlandia Seaways.

It was on its voyage from Zeebrugge to Rosyth. The Lithuanian registered Ro-Ro Freight Ferry weighing 11,500 tonnes had a crew of eighteen who quickly had the situation under control. The shop was off the coast near to Lowestoft.

Today fire investigators at at Immingham docks are studying the cause of the fire.

Humberside Fire and Rescue Service assisted DFDS and other agencies as the vessel neared the mouth of the River Humber during the week.

A fire service spokesman said: "Regrettably, a crew member who was in the engine room at the time of the incident, was injured and was airlifted to a hospital in the UK where he is being treated for injuries to his eyes and lungs. His wife was informed and is now with him. No other persons were injured."

Finlandia Seaways spent some time anchored off the east coast and was brought up the River Humber to Immingham Dock with the help of two tugs.
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Two specially trained fire officers were transported to the vessel by tug in the early hours of today to make an initial risk assessment of the engine room and detect any sources of heat or dangerous gases.

The fire service spokesman said: "Multiple agencies have attended DFDS Nordic Terminal in Immingham this morning in order to put into place a plan to begin investigations into the cause of the fire.

"The shore-side operations were co-ordinated by HFRS with the assistance of ABP, Maritime and Coastguard Agency and DFDS operational staff. Fire crews from Immingham and Peaks Lane Grimsby boarded the vessel shortly after docking.

"Once the area of the engine room was declared safe, the vessel was handed over to Marine Accident Investigation Branch to begin their investigation."

It is understood the crew member was airlifted to hospital at Norwich.