BREAKING UPDATE: Fire reportedly under control onboard Stena Scandica in Baltic Sea

THE fire on board the Stena Scandica in the Baltic sea is believed to be under control. 300 passengers are believed to still be on the ship.

UPDATE 2.27 pm (August 29) – The fire that broke out onboard the Stena Scandica in the Baltic sea at around 12.40 pm on Monday, August 29, is now reportedly under control.

According to Lisa Mjörning, press spokesperson at the Swedish Maritime Administration, the fire is under control.

“We have received reports that the fire is under control, but we have alerted boats and helicopters and cooperate with the Sea Rescue Society, the Coast Guard and merchant shipping if it is the case that we need to evacuate. As it looks now, we don’t need it.”

Prior to Mjörning’s statement, Stefan Elfström, a press spokesperson at Stena Line, told the media: “We have been informed of a fire on a limited scale, firefighting is currently underway. We have no reports of personal injuries. We are currently compiling more information.”

He added: “The passengers on board are taken care of and there is a limited spread of the fire, I can’t specify it more at the moment because we are still building a picture of the situation.”

As noted, 300 passengers are currently onboard the passenger ferry off Gotska Sandön, Sweden.

The fire is believed to have originated in a refrigerated container on the car deck, according to Swedish media reports.

According to Martin Risberg, CEO of Destination Gotland, Sweden Rescue has asked them to assist with help.

“Our ferry MS Visby was on its way from Nynäshamn to Visby but has diverted towards Stena Scandica. I don’t know at the moment how close it came to Stena Scandica. Among other things, we are preparing our helicopter deck,” he said.

The ferry runs between Nynäshamn in Sweden and Ventspils in Latvia. The ferry has a capacity of 970 passengers.

ORIGINAL 1.27 pm (August 29) – Early reports coming out of Sweden on Monday, August 29, suggest that a huge fire has broken out on the Stena Scandica on the outskirts of Sweden in the Baltic Sea.

According to reports from Sweden, 300 passengers are currently stuck on the Stena Scandica outside Gotska Sandön in the Baltic Sea after fire broke out on board the ship.

According to the Swedish Maritime Administration, there will be 300 people on board, as reported by aftonbladet.se.

“We have alerted all available units, pilot boats, helicopters and other vessels in the vicinity to rescue the persons,” said Lisa Mjörning, spokesperson for the Norwegian Maritime Administration to Aftonbladet.

Swedish Maritime Administration helicopters responding to a fire onboard the Stena Scandica in the Baltic Sea.

Swedish Maritime Administration helicopters responding to a fire onboard the Stena Scandica in the Baltic Sea pic.twitter.com/wpzuLGdwxb

— Air & Sea Intel (@air_intel) August 29, 2022

The news of the fire on the Stena Scandica comes weeks after a 40-yacht sank off the coast of Italy’s Catanzaro.

This is a breaking news story, we will continue to update you with further information as it is made available.

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