DFDS closes route after fire on board Finlandia Seaways

DFDS has announced the closure of its Rosyth - Zeebrugge route after a fire broke out on board its Finlandia Seaways ferry and caused ’substantial damage’ to the engineroom.

DFDS said in a statement that on 16 April a fire broke out in the engine room on board DFDS’ roro freight ship Finlandia Seaways, which connects Rosyth in Scotland and Zeebrugge in Belgium.

An injured crew member was airlifted to hospital, where he is being treated for injuries caused by smoke inhalation.

The ship was towed to DFDS’ terminal in Immingham, where the cargo on board has been discharged, and where DFDS had the opportunity to carry out an inspection of where the fire took place.

“The inspection revealed substantial damage to the ship’s engine room, and we estimate that it will be out of service for several months for repairs. Furthermore, our search for a replacement vessel was fruitless and revealed that there are no suitable ships available,” said DFDS senior vice president of routes connecting to the southern part of the North Sea Kell Robdrup.

“Unfortunately, this will bring about further losses on the route, and it means that we have lost all hope of being able to turn around the route’s loss-making situation. Therefore, we have no alternative but to close the route as we undoubtedly will lose clients who will be forced to seek alternative solutions for their transport.”

He added that in co-operation with the Scottish Government and the port, DFDS tried ‘everything in our power’ to save the route. This included going from a combined passenger and cargo ship to a freight ship, reducing costs by enabling double stacking of containers and reducing fuel costs by installing a scrubber to remove sulphur from the exhaust gas instead of using expensive, low-sulphur fuel. However, the route continued to make losses.

Mr Robdrup continued “And with the new situation with the ship out of service for months, the market, the customers and the financial situation will be negatively affected and make a turnaround and a reopening unrealistic.”

DFDS has not made any decisions yet regarding the deployment of Finlandia Seaways when it returns from its repair docking.

Following the closure of the Rosyth – Zeebrugge route, DFDS connects the UK with the Continent via 10 routes.