New Smyril Ro-Ro Skipanes Suffers Engine Room Fire Off Taiwan

The newly built Ro-Ro vessel Skipanes suffered an engine room fire while on her delivery voyage to Europe on 02 Sep 2026, forcing her to return to China for a technical inspection. The incident occurred approximately 20 nautical miles off the coast of Taiwan. No injuries were reported, and the crew extinguished the blaze using the ship's CO2 suppression system. Skipanes was formally handed over to Faroe Islands-based shipping company Smyril Line near the end of August 2026. Smyril Line said the results of the inspection at a local Chinese shipyard will determine when the vessel can resume her delivery voyage. The ship was built by China's CIMC Raffles under a contract awarded by Smyril Line in 2024, which covers two different series of vessels. Skipanes is classed by DNV and measures 189.5 metres in length, with a beam of 27.2 metres, a draught of six metres, and a capacity of 3,300 lane metres. The vessel features a hybrid propulsion system incorporating batteries and main engines that can be reconfigured in the future to run on methanol. CIMC Raffles said the ship was designed to handle the complex sea conditions and extreme climates of the North Atlantic while balancing operational efficiency with low carbon emissions.