COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - The Latest on stranded ferry in the Baltic Sea (all times local):
9:30 p.m.
A ferry stranded in the Baltic Sea with about 300 people on board has reached a port in Lithuania with a navy escort.
The Regina Seaways ferry, operated by Copenhagen-based DFDS, got stuck Tuesday after a malfunction that led to smoke pouring from the engine room. The crew was able to restart the main engine after more than four hours.
A spokeswoman for the port of Klaipeda, Dovile Ringis, told reporters the ferry managed to reach Klaipeda at 9:30 p.m. powered by its own engines despite strong wind and waves.
Ringis says emergency crews were ready to help the vessel’s passengers and crew.
The ferry started its journey in Kiel, Germany,
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7:35 p.m.
Lithuania’s Defense Ministry says that the crew of a ferry stranded in the Baltic Sea with about 300 people on board has managed to restart the main engine and the vessel is now heading toward its original destination.
The Regina Seaways ferry, operated by Copenhagen-based DFDS, got stuck after a malfunction that led to smoke pouring from the engine room. The crew had prepared the ferry’s passengers for evacuation, but in the end that wasn’t necessary.
The ferry, which started its journey in Kiel, Germany, is now heading to the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda.
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4:50 p.m.
Finnish and Swedish weather forecasts for the southeastern part of the Baltic Sea say there are gale force winds, rain showers, with poor visibility and risk of thunder storms in the region.
Lithuanian broadcaster LNK says it might take up to 20 hours for the ferry to reach its destination of Klaipeda, Lithuania’s port city north of Kaliningrad.
Danish ferry operator DFDS has several ferry routes in Europe, mainly in the Baltic Sea, including the Kiel, Germany to Klaipeda crossing. Its Regina Seaways ferry with around 300 people on board was stranded in the Baltic Sea after the ship experienced engine failure. There were no injuries and an evacuation wasn’t immediately necessary.
The ship was in international waters off Kaliningrad, Russia’s Baltic Sea exclave between Poland and Lithuania.
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4:30 p.m.
A spokesman for Russia’s Federal Agency for Sea and River Transport says that the crew of a stranded ferry in the Baltic Sea with about 300 people onboard is trying to make one of the ship’s malfunctioning engines work again.
Alexei Kravchenko has told the Interfax news agency that the crew has asked to be taken to Lithuania. He says that a Russian tugboat and ships from Lithuania, Estonia and Sweden are approaching the ferry to provide assistance.
The Copenhagen, Denmark-based operator DFDS Seaways said the Regina Seaways was stranded in the Baltic Sea after the ship experienced engine failure.
No injuries have been reported and the company said that an evacuation wasn’t immediately necessary.
The ship was in international waters off Kaliningrad, Russia’s Baltic Sea exclave between Poland and Lithuania. The ferry was traveling between the ports of Kiel, Germany, and Klaipeda, Lithuania.
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3:10 p.m.
Danish ferry operator DFDS says that 294 passengers have been stranded after one of its ships had an engine breakdown in the Baltic Sea.
The company says that the malfunction aboard the Regina Seaways produced smoke, which triggered the ship’s fire extinguishing system in the engine room. No passengers or crew members have been injured, according to a statement.
DFDS said Tuesday that passengers were assembled at muster stations in preparation for a possible evacuation, but it wasn’t necessary because the “situation is under control.”
The statement said that the extent of the damage wasn’t yet fully known, and it is not yet clear whether the ship can continue on its own or with tugboat assistance.
The ferry was traveling between the ports of Kiel, Germany, and Klaipeda, Lithuania.
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