Ship from same firm is hit by fire and drifts in the Indian Ocean A cruise ship with more than 30 Britons on board was last night drifting in the Indian Ocean in an area targeted by pirates. The Costa Allegra, which belongs to the company that owns the doomed Costa Concordia , ran into trouble after an engine-room fire knocked out its power.
The blaze on the 43-year-old Allegra was put out by sprinklers and the ship’s firefighting team before it had spread.
But last night it was not clear whether the 1,049 passengers and crew on board would have to be evacuated or whether engineers would be able to resolve the problem and get the 28,000 ton ship started again.
Two tugs, two trawlers and another ship were on their way to the scene but the first of these was not expected to reach the  Allegra until early today.
Among the Britons on board is Hannah Hargreaves. Last night her mother Christine said: ‘Half of me is thinking, from what the news is saying, don’t be worried. But obviously as a parent and a mother you are still always wondering “are they ok?” ‘
Officials at the Costa Cruises head office in the Italian port of Genoa said the Allegra was around 260 miles south-west of the Seychelles. Numerous ships sailing through the area have been targeted by pirates, mainly from Somalia.
There were 151 attacks by pirates on ships in the Indian Ocean last year.
In 2009, Britons Paul and Rachel Chandler were kidnapped by pirates as they sailed their yacht from near the Seychelles to Tanzania in east Africa. The couple were held captive for more than a year before finally being released.
Six weeks ago the 114,500 ton Costa Concordia hit rocks just off the Italian island of Giglio after its captain had changed course to carry out a ‘sail by salute’ to the island. The ship capsized and more than 30 people, including a five-year-old girl, died.
The skipper, Francesco Schettino, is under house arrest while charges of multiple manslaughter, abandoning ship while passengers were still on board, causing a shipwreck and failing to communicate with maritime officials are investigated.
Last night sources at Costa Cruises said the fire on the Allegra had started due to an ‘electrical fault’.
The firm said in a statement that the captain had issued a distress call but ‘no passengers or crew were injured’ and there had been no evacuation of the Allegra, which was about 20 miles from Alphonse Island when the fire broke out.
Costa spokesman Giorgio Moretti said the ship was adrift. ‘It is being pushed by the current,’ he said. ‘It is stable and upright.’
Mr Moretti said he expected the 636 passengers on board would spend the night on outside decks. Among them were 212 Italians, 31 Britons and eight Americans.
Nine Italian marines were also reported to be on board the Allegra to guard against pirates.
The ship had left northern Madagascar, off Africa, on Saturday and was cruising toward the port of Victoria, the Seychelles’ capital.
After that it was due to sail north, making stops in Oman, Jordan and Egypt before ending its cruise in Savona, Italy.
Although Costa said in a statement that the Allegra was built in 1992, it emerged last night that the ship was originally a container vessel called the Annie Johnson and had in fact been been launched 23 years earlier.
It was originally used by a Finnish merchant line for cargo and then in 1986 was bought by Regency Cruises, which refitted it as a cruise ship. Costa bought it in 1990 and refitted it again over the next two years.