Fire forces ferry back to Portsmouth

A FIRE in Commodore Clipper's engine system forced it to turn around and head back to Portsmouth yesterday as crewmembers tackled the blaze.

All 220 passengers and 39 employees were declared safe and well after being mustered in assembly points.

The ferry left Portsmouth late due to bad weather at 11am. It was due to arrive in Guernsey at 6pm.

An alarm was sounded at 1.20pm when a 'minor fire' was reported in one of the thermal oil heating systems, which operate as auxiliary components in the vessel's two engines.

It was later extinguished by crewmembers who were trained to use fire-fighting equipment in the port side of the oil system.