'No flames' on Stena Line ship during incident which forced return to Belfast port

The Stena Line ship was attended to by fire crews in Belfast. Credit: PA

Stena Line has said there was no fire on board its ship which was forced to make a return to port on Tuesday evening.

Fire crews attended to an incident in Belfast port. The company said the vessel made its return as a precaution.

The Stena Scotia, a freight vessel bound for Heysham, left Belfast at 8.30pm with 22 crew and 10 truck drivers onboard. It returned to port at around 9pm after it was reported that there was a trailer onboard that was "heating with a small amount of smoke".

The ferry operator says smoke was seen to be coming from an overheating trailer which was believed to have contained oxidising aluminium.

Crew members responded by cooling the trailer with hoses.

Stena confirmed that upon returning to port, the trailer was taken off the vessel and handed over the fire service.

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS), in a statement said thirteen fire appliances and 68 firefighters were in attendance including its specialist marine response Team."

Stena Line praised the "swift action of the ship's crew" and said it was "grateful for the assistance of the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service".

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