- King Seaways ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam had 1,094 on board
- Six crew members and one passenger have been airlifted to hospital
- Passenger suspected of setting fire in cabin was detained by ship staff
- Police: The fire has been contained and ship is returning to Newcastle
- Ferry is popular with parties and gives 40% discount for stag and hen dos
- It comes just weeks after another fire on a DFDS ferry near Sweden
- DFDS spokesman: 'It is too early to speculate on the cause of the blaze'
Seven people have been airlifted to hospital after a fire broke out on a ferry with more than 1,000 people on board in the North Sea.
The ferry is the King Seaways service which left North Shields, near Newcastle, at 5pm and was heading for Ijmuiden near Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
Police say a passenger is thought to have set fire to a cabin and was detained by ship staff. It is unknown whether the fire was started deliberately or accidentally.
The ferry is returning to its starting point, said police, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded.
Fire: The blaze broke out on board the King Seaways ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam, pictured
The blaze broke out 30 miles north east of Flamborough Head, near Scarborough. The ferry is now unlikely to reach its destination, leaving its 964 passengers and 130 crew stranded in another port.
Humber Coastguard was alerted just after 10pm after a fire broke out in a cabin about 30 miles off the coast of Hull, East Yorkshire.
Six crew members and a passenger have been airlifted to Scarborough Hospital suffering from smoke inhalation, Humber Coastguard said, though the final total has not been confirmed.
Inspector Andrew Dixon from Humberside Police said: 'It is unknown whether the fire had been started deliberately or accidentally but a number of persons, mainly crew but some passengers, had suffered smoke inhalation.
'As a result of this incident the person suspected of causing the fire, the person from the cabin where the fire occurred, had been detained by ship staff and the ship was returning to its dock in Newcastle.'
Two helicopters from RAF Leconfield and RAF Boulmer and two RNLI boats have assisted with the rescue.
The RNLI launched two all-weather two lifeboats from Bridlington and Filey at about 11pm and have since stood down.
The fire on board the ferry, run by DFDS Seaways, has been contained.
Humberside Police said it was thought a passenger had set fire to a cabin, but it is not clear at this stage if the fire was started deliberately or accidentally, the BBC reported.
RAF squadron leader Dave Webster said: 'The fire seems to have become quite well under control.'
He said when the call came in at around 10.40pm for RAF assistance, it was thought that 23 people would need to be winched to safety after they had breathed in smoke, but the figure was later downgraded.
A second helicopter from RAF Boulmer, Northumberland, was due to arrive around 11.30pm and was expected to stay close to the vessel on stand-by.
Sqn Ldr Webster added: 'It will stay just in case anyone else needs to be evacuated.'
Ferry: The location of the King Seaways service (blue arrow) when the fire broke out near Hull
U-turn: The ship changed its course and was due to arrive back in North Shields at about 4.35am
Bev Allen, Watch Manager at Humber Coastguard, said: 'We have been in close contact with the MS King Seaways this evening and sent resources to assist in the evacuation of those passengers and crew that were showing signs of smoke inhalation.'
A Humber Coastguard spokesman added: 'We were contacted by the ferry saying they had a fire in one of the passenger blocks but they had brought it under control and it's now out.
'We are unaware of the possible cause at the moment but I am sure the ferry company will carry out their own investigation.
'We are trying to establish the best next course of action. It will probably come back to port or another port closer to its current location.'
Gert Jakobsen, a spokesman for the ship’s Danish owners, DFDS, said: ‘In total, 15 passengers and three crew members were affected by smoke. They were treated by the ship’s doctor and the fire was put out within 15 minutes.
'It is too early to speculate on the cause of the blaze. The doctor decided which of the passengers should receive additional treatment on land.’
The ferry is returning to the International Ferry Terminal at North Shields, and is due to arrive between 4am and 5am.
Popular: The ferry, pictured, sails overnight every evening from the North East to the Netherlands
A fire broke out on a DFDS ferry just a few weeks ago.
The Corona Seaways vessel was en route from Fredericia to Copenhagen in Denmark on December 4 when the blaze broke out.
Danish and Swedish rescue services had to come to the ship's aid, though none of the 19 crew members or 10 passengers were injured.
According to the DFDS Seaways website, the 26-year-old vessel has room for over 1,500 passengers and 600 cars. It was renovated in 2006.
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