Cargo ship stuck in river after tide falls

By Harriet Heywood & John Devine, BBC News, Cambridgeshire

A cargo ship travelling through Cambridgeshire has become stuck in a river.

The Baltic Arrow is currently in the River Nene, Wisbech, after the captain reported "grounding" at about 08:49 BST on Tuesday.

The cargo ship was sailing from Riga, in Latvia, to the Port of Wisbech with timber in packs.

A port spokesperson said it was a "rare situation" but because the tide had fallen the plan was to wait "until [the] vessel is afloat at next high water to free her from the banks".

The cargo ship was being sailed under the flag of St Kitts and Nevis to the Port of Wisbech.

Six crew members and two local pilots were on board.

There have been no reported injuries on the 80-metre (262ft) long vessel and the captain has not reported any damage.

A spokesperson from Wisbech Port added that a full investigation will be carried out to find out why it grounded.

They said: "Since tide has fallen away, plan is to wait until vessel is afloat at next high water to free her from banks with additional tug assistance and continue her pilotage safely into Wisbech Port.

"This is a rare situation to happen at Wisbech. We hope to have vessel freed this evening and bring her alongside for discharging as usual."

Grounding can be described as the vessel no longer being afloat and the hull of the ship touching the river bed.

On this occasion, it was down to the tide going out whilst part of the vessel was in contact with the bank, the port spokesperson said.

They added: "All berths at Wisbech port are NAABSA berths which stands for 'not always afloat but safely aground' so technically all vessels ground whilst moored here during low water.

"The river bed is very soft and sludgy here and the vessel is designed to safely ground so we are confident of no ongoing issues."

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