An Italian cruise ship from the same fleet as the tragedy-struck Costa Concordia is adrift off the Seychelles with more than 1,000 people on board following an engine room fire, officials said this afternoon.
Fire crews on board put out the blaze and no one was injured on the luxury ship, the Costa Allegra, but it has been forced to make a mayday call seeking assistance from nearby cargo ships and there has been a power blackout.
The Costa Allegra is well known in Malta, making regular calls at Grand Harbour during the summer.
Italy's coast guard said in a statement it had contacted local authorities in the Seychelles, adding that the accident happened near Alphonse Island some 200 nautical miles from the main island of the Indian Ocean archipelago.
A Seychelles official said help was on the way, although the Italian coast guard said it would likely take several hours to reach the ship.
"We have made contact with the vessel. We are sending assistance," said Michael Rosette, the Seychelles deputy army chief of staff, adding: "There are no casualties."
Italian coast guard spokesman Cosimo Nicastro said the Seychelles had sent a coast guard ship, a plane and two tug boats to the Costa Allegra.
"The ship is completely safe. Other vessels are also on their way. The captain is updating us regularly about the situation on board," Nicastro said.
The coast guard said that all 636 passengers and 413 crew members on the ship, which left Madagascar on Saturday on its way to the Seychelles, were "in good health and were informed promptly of the situation".
"The Costa Allegra's engines are out but its communications are working," the Italian coast guard said, adding that wind speeds in the area were around 25 knots which can make for choppy but not gale-force conditions at sea.
The ship was at the start of a cruise which would have also taken it to Oman, the Red Sea and the Egyptian Meditteranean city of Alexandria.
Officials said it was around 20 nautical miles from tiny Alphonse Island, part of an atoll that officially belongs the Seychelles and is known for its white sandy beaches and dense forests, as well as tortoises and rare birds.
The 1.74-square-kilometre island has a population of just a couple of hundred people and a luxury hotel, the Alphonse Island Resort.
The website of cruise operator Costa Crociere, which allows users to track the ships, said data transmission from the liner had been temporarily suspended.
Costa Crociere, Europe's biggest cruise operator based in Genoa in northern Italy, said it had been informed of the fire at 10:39 am (0939 GMT) in Italy.
"Fire security procedures on board were immediately activated and special fire crews intervened. The fire was extinguished and did not extend to any other part of the ship. There were no injured or victims," it said.
"The general emergency alarm was promptly declared. All passengers and crew members not managing the emergency went to the muster stations," it said.
"Checks are under way in the engine room to re-start the instruments necessary to reactivate the functioning of the ship," it added.
"Tugboats and other support means are on their way," it said.
The Costa Allegra weighs 28,597 tons and is 188 metres (620 feet) long.
The much larger Costa Concordia, weighing more than 114,000 tons, crashed into the Italian island of Giglio last month with 4,229 people from 60 countries on board in a tragedy that claimed 32 lives.
The Costa Allegra is due to return to Malta in July.