It was like the Titanic without the iceberg

Passenger on Princess of Scandinavia

British passengers on board the vessel spoke of their relief at touching dry land.

The drama began on Friday night, when blazes erupted in the engine room and spread to the funnel of the vessel as it made its way to Kristiansand from North Shields, near Newcastle.

The fires prompted a mayday call from the ship, which had lost power, and a massive rescue operation involving the RAF and coastguards from several countries was begun.

No casualties

Passengers were escorted onto the deck ready for evacuation, and lifeboats were lowered.

But the evacuations plans were abandoned after the fires were extinguished by onboard firefighters about two hours later, and the crew managed to restart some of the engines.

Click here to see the ferry's route

There were no casualties, although two passengers collapsed on deck and were treated for shock.

Passengers leaving the ship in Norway told the BBC the ship's public address system was disabled and there was confusion about what was happening.

One passenger said: "It was like Titanic without the iceberg."

She said passengers were woken in their cabins by worried crew members and told to go to the upper deck where the lifeboats were being made ready.

Others praise the crew and said there was little sign of panic during the incident.

Michael Anderton, 61, from Bridge of Allan, near Stirling, said: "At first I thought it was a fire practice. Then I saw the lifeboats being lowered and I began to think it was more serious."

Ian Donkin, 41, from Newcastle, said: "We were in the cinema when the film cut short and everyone was told to go up on deck.

Fire investigation

"People were just standing around and chatting. Everyone was very calm, it wasn't panicky at all."

Joyce Close, 72, from Ashford, Kent, said: "The staff were brilliant. They kept us supplied with food and drink and blankets and made sure everyone stayed calm."

Leif Mikkelsen, of DFDS Seaways which owns the ship, said staff were trained for such events.

RAF helicopters were not needed in the end

"We acted as soon as we could and we acted in the way we should", he said.

Initial reports suggest the fires were started by a leak from a hydraulic system.

Among the passengers there were 246 Britons, 428 Swedes, 71 Norwegians and 13 Danes.

The ferry limped into Kristiansand, its first scheduled port of call, nearly eight hours late just before 1500 GMT (1600 BST) on Saturday evening.

The ferry, which left the English port of Newcastle on Friday, had been scheduled to sail on to Gothenburg, Sweden, but will remain in Norway for repairs and the investigation.

Travel arrangements were being made for passengers who wanted to reach Gothenburg or return to Britain.

The ferry runs between Britain, Norway and Sweden

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