In the port of Corfu in Greece, the cruise ship MSC Lirica caught fire early Friday afternoon.

The starboard side of the ship (right side) was the scene of heavy smoke and flames which were clearly visible from afar. The fire seems to have originated from an empty lifeboat on deck 6 of the cruise ship, MSC spokesperson said.

"A fire on board MSC Lirica, which seems to be originated in an empty lifeboat on deck 6, was reported to the emergency services earlier today in Corfu where the ship is currently in warm layup," MSC said in a statement.

Luckily no passengers were on board at the time of the incident and of the 51 are members none were injured. The ship has been docked in the port of Corfu since 1 March.

The incident had been going on for an hour when local firefighting authorities arrived at the scene.

The fire fighters were helped by firefighting boats who could tackle the situation from a more comfortable position.