Lifeboat crews from Hastings and Eastbourne were called to a blaze on board a tanker in the Channel off Beachy Head.
The 2,550-ton Danish-registered Sofie Theresa, carrying a cargo of wax, caught fire at 10.30pm yesterday, 18 miles of the coast.
None of the 13-man crew, en route from Rotterdam in Holland to Petit Coronne in France, were hurt.
Two lifeboats from Eastbourne and Hastings and a firefighting tug were launched, while a coastguard helicopter circled the ship, using an infra-red camera to search for "hot-spots" on board.
The ship remained anchored off the coast this morning after the fire in its engine room.
The ship's "non-hazardous" cargo of "slack wax", used in candles and cosmetics, was not affected by the fire.
A commercial tug was called to tow the Sophie Theresa back to Rotterdam.
Eastbourne Lifeboat coxswain Dave Corke, said: "When we arrived the crew on the tanker were trying to contain the fire using on-board extinguishers but due to the heat could not get into the engine room.
"They were scared of letting air into the room which could fan the fire.
"We couldn't see any flames or smoke but could see the crew, some of whom were wearing fire fighting equipment. The skipper looked pleased to see the lifeboats but they were all very calm.
"We used searchlights along the hull to look for hot-spots and at one time we got prepared to use firehoses to cool the hull down."
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