BRITTANY Ferries services across the Channel have been badly affected after an electrical fire on board the Normandie, which injured two crew members and forced the vessel with nearly 500 passengers on board to head to Cherbourg, France.
Image: Tony Weaver
Services between Caen/Ouistreham and Portsmouth were cancelled Monday night (Apr 11) and the late-night sailing of the Bretagne from Portsmouth to St Malo was delayed to allow passengers due on the Normandie to cross the Channel.
Yesterday’s services were also cancelled and Brittany Ferries said: “Normandie’s sailings are currently cancelled up to including Wednesday’s 8.15 Portsmouth – Caen sailing.
“Customers are being accommodated on other sailings, both on the Portsmouth/Caen route (sailings operated by Mont St Michel) as well as Portsmouth/ Le Havre, Portsmouth/St Malo and Poole/Cherbourg.”
The Normandie had suffered a fault on an electrical switchboard and two crew members – one an external contractor and the other a Brittany Ferries second engineer - were injured. One received electrical burns and the other the effects of smoke inhalation.
A medical team was helicoptered to the ferry as it turned round to make for Cherbourg and the two injured crew were airlifted to Lille hospital.
The Normandie has now been taken out of service and a team of engineers has been sent to repair the fault and cause.
Source: The Connexion