A BACK-UP cargo ship called in by DFDS – after one of its vessels suffered an engine room fire while on its way from Jersey to Portsmouth – is expected to be in operation from today.
The Danish shipping firm yesterday announced that MV Arrow was en route from France, while it continued working with port authorities to bring the damaged Caesarea Trader in for “further assessment”.
It stated that the situation onboard the latter vessel, which suffered an engine room fire on Monday afternoon, was “under control” and that “all crew members and the one passenger onboard are safe”.
It remained anchored off the Isle of Wight as of yesterday afternoon.
DFDS deployed an additional freight-only sailing with its Stena Vinga vessel yesterday and called in MV Arrow, which began sailing from Dunkerque and was expected to arrive in Portsmouth this morning.
The ferry operator also said that it was “working with freight customers to finalise a revised operating schedule”.
Economic Development Minister Kirsten Morel said the government was “thankful that no one was injured during the incident on the Caesarea Trader” and “pleased that DFDS’s contingency plan has been implemented so effectively”, minimising the impact on the Island’s supply chain.
“The DFDS back-up vessel, MV Arrow, is expected to be in operation from [Wednesday], and DFDS is working with freight customers on the revised operating schedule,” the statement continued.
“In addition, the Stena Vinga – which carries both passengers and freight – is making an additional freight-only sailing today.
“This swift response by DFDS means that Jersey is losing only one of its 11 weekly freight rotations between Jersey and the UK, and it demonstrates the value of working with a ferry operator which is capable of providing such supply chain resilience.”
