Irish Ferries has confirmed that one of its vessels encountered difficulties this evening after a small fire broke out on board at 5.30pm.
In a statement, the company said that the crew on board the Isle of Innisfree "were alerted to a small fire in the ship's engine room while the ship was sailing from Dover to Calais".
The ferry had left the English port at 5pm.
It said its crews train regularly to deal with incidents at sea and "the fire has now been extinguished".
The ship was carrying 94 passengers and 89 crew and all are safe and accounted for.
The UK coastguard was informed and dispatched three lifeboats as a precautionary measure.
However, no emergency assistance was required and the company said the vessel will be on its way to Calais "imminently".
Passengers booked on imminent Isle of Innisfree sailings will be transferred to alternative sailings.
Irish Ferries said it would like to sincerely apologise to all its passengers for the disruption to their journeys.
The Isle of Innisfree crosses the English Channel from Dover to Calais up to ten times a day.
