Costa Allegra Docks in Seychelles

The crippled Italian cruise liner the Costa Allegra docked in the Seychelles on Thursday with over 1,000 people on board, three days after a fire in the engine room disabled it in pirate-infested Indian Ocean waters.

With no lights working on board, the company said it had dropped hundreds of torches onto the ship to help passengers find their way around at night.

A small generator was installed in the crippled vessel, but was only powerful enough to run its auxiliary communication system, not the air conditioning or cooking systems.

Norbert Stiekema, executive vice-president at Costa Cruises, told the news conference that all passengers were offered the option of a holiday or a flight home, and that all outstanding bills on the ship had been cancelled.

Some passengers were checked by medics as a precaution and the rest were taken to hotels.