The Tall Ship Tenacious, with 39 people on board, off the Devon coast called for assistance when the ship caught fire. It is now heading for port
in Dorset, after crew, following emergency drill, put the fire out
themselves.

A coastguard spokesman said: ‘Tenacious reported she had a fire in
the engine room and was closing down the engines and the crew were
intending to use their on-board CO2 system to douse the fire.

‘Earlier, the crew reported that a team with breathing apparatus had
entered the engine space and had seen flames from the starboard
engine.

‘They were then able to fight the fire in the engine room while
wearing the breathing apparatus.’

The owner’s engineering manager Richard Walker said the emergency
drill ran smoothly. No-one was hurt.

The three-masted, square-rigged vessel is the larger of the two tall
ships run by the Jubilee Sailing Trust and was on a voyage from
Southampton to Milford Haven.

Two lifeboats were called out, and the sailing ship, which has 10
permanent crew and 29 mixed ability crew, is now heading for Portland
with an escort.