Lithuania's military on Tuesday said a ferry carrying 335 people was stranded in the Baltic Sea after an incident in the engine room.

However, by early evening, the Regina Seaways ferry operated by Denmark's DFDS was on its way to the Lithuanian port town of Klaipeda on its own power.

Initial reports had suggested there was a fire on board. But DFDS later said that "there was vibration and there was smoke, but no fire was noticed."

International response

The Danish operator said passengers and crew members were prepared for a possible evacuation but, in the end, such protocol was unnecessary.

Lithuania sent three military vessels and a helicopter. Russian and Polish rescue services also responded to the incident.

The ferry was en route to the Lithuanian port town of Klaipeda from the German city of Kiel. The ferry was built in 2010 and has a maximum capacity of 500 people. It also carries vehicles.

ls/msh (Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa)

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.