Highly trained officers have overseen a multi agency operation to make a vessel safe after it finally docked at Immingham this morning.
At 22:13 on 16 April 2018, a fire broke out in the engine room on board Finlandia Seaways on its voyage from Zeebrugge to Rosyth. The Lithuanian registered Ro-Ro Freight Ferry weighing 11,500 tonnes had a crew of eighteen which quickly had the situation under control.
Humberside Fire & Rescue Service (HFRS) was made aware of the situation and began to plan how to assist DFDS and other agencies as the vessel neared the mouth of the River Humber during the week.
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 has now been brought up the River Humber to Immingham Dock with the help of two tugs.
Two specially trained fire officers were transported to the vessel by tug in the early hours of Friday 20 April to make an initial risk assessment of the engine room and detect any sources of heat or dangerous gases.
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 (MAIB) to begin their investigation.