Lithuania, Port, Tourism, Transport

Before the incident, Regina Seaways operated on the Klaipeda-Kiel route. The ferry left Klaipeda for Sweden's Karlshamn on Monday and will temporarily operate on this route, Vaidas Klumbys, spokesman for DFDS Seaways, told.

"Following the revision and updating of all safety systems, certain technical assessment and receipt of necessary permits from related institutions, the vessel was moved to the Klaipeda-Karlshman route and will operate with one engine," he said.

According to Klumbys, the Karlshamn route is not so time-sensitive and although the ferry will arrive in the port three hours later, the ferry will have time for unloading and loading in designated time. Meanwhile, it wouldn’t be able to do so in Kiel.

And the Athena Seaways ferry of the same size and class, which was used on the Klaipeda-Karlshamn route, will no service the Kiel route.

The Lithuanian Transport Safety Administration has issued a permit for Regina Seaways for three months, and it can be extended later following an inspection of its systems.

The incident on the Regina Seaways took place en route from Kiel to Klaipeda on October 2, 2018, when smoke was spotted coming out of the engine room. The vessel arrived in Klaipeda late on the same day, using one of its two engines. There were 335 people onboard but they did not sustain any injuries.