Pembrokeshire looks set to be without a Fishguard-to-Rosslare ferry link until next month following Saturday night's engine room fire on the Stena Europe.
The 1981-built vessel is now due to go to dry dock for repairs, alongside scheduled maintenance and repairs, but no date has been given by Stena Line for its return to the port at Fishguard.
However, no sailings from the port are available on the company's online booking system until March 1.
The fire on board the vessel broke out as it approached Fishguard on Saturday evening, and sparked a huge multi-agency response.
The 88 passengers on board were issued with lifejackets as a precautionary measure, but all disembarked safely after the vessel docked.
Stena Line said that immediate investigations would be carried out into the cause of the fire.
A Stena Line spokesman told the Western Telegraph on Tuesday February 14: “The investigation is ongoing, but initial indications identified a fuel pipe failure on one of the vessel's main engines.
"The overall assessment continues, in cooperation and collaboration with the vessel’s Classification Society and all relevant regulatory authorities.
"The vessel was scheduled to go to dry dock after Fishguard for planned maintenance works, but this has been slightly delayed due to recent events.
"However, the authorities have now approved the vessel to continue sailing and it will proceed to dry dock to complete scheduled maintenance and any repairs, before it safely returns to the route.
"We are sorry for the ongoing inconvenience this causes and will provide further details to our customers as soon as we can.”
READ MORE
- Huge multi-agency response after Stena ferry engine room drama
- Stena Europe: Passenger's story and pictures after on-board fire
- RNLI lifeboats launch swift and smooth response to ferry fire
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