Another cruise crisis for Costa

The ship is from the same fleet as the Costa Corcordia, which capsized off the Italian coast last month – killing over 30 people.

The Costa Allegra was en route from Madagascar to the Seychelles when the fire broke out. The fire has been reportedly put out and there are no injuries.

The vessel is now reportedly being towed to the Seychelles so that the 1050 passengers and crew can disembark safely.

Italian authorities have directed merchant ships towards the vessel and a government plane is patrolling overhead – partly because the vessel is apparently close to an area that is vulnerable to attacks by Somali pirates.

Paul Wright, associate director at Plymouth University’s Marine Institute, said: “A fire at sea is extremely dangerous, and a fire in the engine room is a Captain’s nightmare. It poses major problems. But if the fire is contained, the best lifeboat is the ship. A passenger ship will be equipped with emergency lighting and fire pumps, but many other services will not be operable causing great inconvenience to those on board.”

Costa Cruises has not commented on the incident so far.