Police have been informed about potential sabotage on a newbuilding at Flensburger Shipyard in Germany.

The Flensburger Tageblatt website cites an unnamed yard spokesman as confirming it has contacted the authorities on suspicion of "manipulation" on Irish Ferries' 50,000-gt WB Yeats.

Further details were not being disclosed, but the newspaper reported that a valve in the ferry cooling system had been deliberately closed, which resulted in one of the four main engines running hot.