Strong winds generated by the remnants of Hurricane Gonzalo in the North Atlantic caused a Stena Line ferry to break free from its moorings in Ireland with stranded passengers onboard.
According to reports, high winds set the Stena Superfast VIII ferry adrift Tuesday in Northern Ireland’s Belfast Harbor with 18 passengers and 55 crew onboard.
Tugs were deployed to retrieve the vessel and it was eventually brought back to its berth without injuries or major damage.
At the time of the incident, the ferry was stuck with some passengers in Belfast Lough because the trip back to Scotland was cancelled due to the weather.
The ferry operates regular service on the Belfast to Cairnryan route and can carry 1,200 passengers and 660 cars.
About Stena Superfast VIII:
- Length: 204 m
- Width: 40 m
- Built: 2001
- Car capacity: 660
- Passengers: 1,200
- Grosstonnage: 30 285 t
- Draught: 6,6 m
- Speed: 22 knots
- Freight capacity: 115 lane meters
- Shipbuilder: HDW Kiel Germany
- Port of registry: Belfast
- Flag: UK
- Engines: 4 X Wartzila Sulzer 16ZA40S
- Kw/horsepower: 44000 kW