Ocean Countess, the1976 built cruise ship of Majestic International, has been hit by fire while the ship has been laid up in Chalkis in Greece, media reports say.

The 17,593 gross ton ship has last traded on charter to Cruise & Maritime Voyages, the UK based operator of chartered tonnage, which used it for a few years after commencing operations in 2009.

The ship was built as Cunard Countess for Cunard Line and it was the first unit of two similar, high density vessels with accommodation for about 800 passengers the company introduced in the mid-1970s. Their hulls were built in Denmark and they were towed to Italy for fitting out.