Another cargo ship goes aground, but this time in Sussex
In an echo of the recent blocking of the Suez Canal, but on a far smaller scale, a cargo ship has gone aground in the Port of Littlehampton.
Littlehampton rarely attracts much attention, but the small port in the south of England had its own Ever Given moment yesterday, reports the Guardian.
In an incident reminiscent of the recent blocking of the Suez Canal, the mouth of the River Arun was blocked when a small cargo vessel, the Elise, broke her moorings and grounded right at the entrance to the Sussex haven.
A fifth of the size of the now infamous Ever Given, the 80m Elise did still give harbour authorities a headache as she settled onto her mud berth. As the tide fell she broke one of her mooring lines, which let her stern swing free into the current, blocking the river mouth.
Registered under the flag of Antigua/Barbuda, the 14-year-old Elise, had come from Antwerp. The little ship was finally manoeuvred back onto her berth on the next high water by the tug, Erica.
Deputy Harbour Master Michael Hayes said: “Using our tugs we were able to push her back in. It’s not a major incident, no”.
