WITH the ship listing and 62 passengers on board to worry about, the crew of the Commodore Clipper struggled desperately to contain a fire that had started in a trailer full of potatoes, a report released today has disclosed.

On reaching Portsmouth, firefighters battled with smoke and the ship’s failing systems to reach the source of the fire, before a dock-hand stepped in bravely to pull the five remaining trailers alight from the ship.

The incident threw up numerous hurdles that had to be overcome while the source of the blaze was tackled: power failures, a listing ship and a lack of breathing apparatus equipment among them.

When the Clipper, which was travelling overnight on 16 June 2010 from Jersey, docked at Portsmouth the 62 passengers elected to stay on board. They were on board for around 20 hours in all.