On July 19, a cargo vessel ran aground near Pentland Skerries between Orkney and the Caithness coast.
What happened?
The 292 foot long cargo vessel ‘Priscilla’ ran into technical difficulties and ran aground near Pentland Skerries between Orkney and the Caithness coast.
There were six crew members onboard the vessel when the incident occurred. The crew members were unsuccessful in refloating the vessel and had to avail the assistance of tugs.
Tug dispatched
The ‘Thurso RNLI’ and a tug ‘Green Isle’ were first on the scene but attempts to refloat the ship failed due to the presence of high tide.
A second, more powerful tug arrived from Scapa Flow in Orkney mid-afternoon, just before high tide but was not able to move the ship.
No pollution reported
None of the crew members onboard the vessel were injured during the grounding incident and no pollution to the environment was reported.
The coastguard emergency towing vessel (ETV) ‘Levoli Black’ has arrived for assistance and remains on standby, along with the Longhope lifeboat which has relieved the Thurso RNLI crew.
Vessel will be refloated soon
A spokeswoman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has assures that the tugs will attempt to refloat the vessel once the high tide subsides.
She continued, “The ETV will be standing by the vessel overnight and it is unlikely that a further attempt will be made to refloat the vessel before the next high water period which is due at 4am on Thursday. The Longhope RNLI lifeboat is also still on scene. The vessel remains stable and there are still no signs of any major damage and no signs of any pollution. The crew remain safe and well.”
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Source: BBC
