Costa Allegra cruise ship stranded in Indian Ocean Reuters

A cruise ship run by the owners of the Costa Concordia is adrift in the Indian Ocean, with more than 1,000 passengers and crew stranded after a fire in the ship's engine room.

Costa Cruises said no injuries had been reported on the Costa Allegra after the blaze, which was put out before it spread to other areas of the ship. A spokesman said 31 Britons were on board.

A fishing boat was due to arrive with supplies by 3am and tugs will reach the ship by around 7pm on Tuesday to tow it to the Seychelles, the Italian coast guard said. "The passengers are fine," said Cosimo Nicastro of the Italian coastguard.

The accident – possibly caused by an electrical fault according to one company source – will further damage the reputation of Costa Cruises, which is already facing multiple law suits after the Costa Concordia crashed into rocks in Italy on 13 January, leaving 32 passengers and crew dead or still missing.

The Costa Allegra, carrying 636 passengers and 413 crew, was on Monday night drifting, with only emergency lights operating, in force four seas, 200 miles south-west of the Seychelles and about 20 miles from Alphonse Island, an area frequented by pirates. A company spokesman said there were nine Italian marines on board the vessel as a security measure.

Srdjana Janosevic, a spokeswoman for the Seychelles president, said: "If pirates attack, the armed guards on board will respond. But as far as I am aware, no pirates have been sighted in the area."

Janosevic added that the Seychelles coastguard and air wing had mobilised, and an aircraft was flying over the ship late on Monday evening. A helicopter is due to deliver food to the ship on Tuesday as well as cell phones and radios to use as the ship's battery-powered satellite phone runs down.

Costa Cruises said that after fire broke out in the electrical generator rooms to the rear of the ship, a distress signal was sent out, the general emergency alarm was sounded on board and passengers and crew were ordered to muster stations. "The shipboard fire-extinguishing system and procedures were activated and the special fire-fighting squads intervened to extinguish the fire," a statement said.

"Inspections on the state of the engine room are ongoing in order to restart the necessary equipment to reactivate the functionality of the ship."

The 28,596 tonne Costa Allegra, which can carry a maximum of 1,400 people, had left Diego Suarez in Madagascar on Saturday and was due to arrive in the Seychelles on Tuesday. Built in 1969 in Finland as a cargo ship, the 188 metre long vessel was refitted as a cruise ship in 1992 with eight passenger decks and 399 cabins.

"This is really an unlucky period for Costa Cruises, although I am happy there were neither victims or wounded on board," said Sergio Ortelli, the mayor of Giglio, the island off the Tuscan coast of Italy where the Costa Concordia grounded after it hit rocks.

The Costa Concordia's captain, Francesco Schettino, is under house arrest, accused of manslaughter and abandoning ship. The 114,000 tonne ship, which had 4,252 people aboard, suffered a 70 metre gash in its side as it hit rocks.

"This is another serious incident that shows we were right to ask for urgent checks on all the Costa Cruises fleet," said Carlo Rienzi, the head of Italian consumer group Codacons, which is backing legal action against the firm by passengers who were on board the Costa Concordia.