Seven Polish crew members have been rescued from a stricken cargo ship which ran aground in north Wales during rough conditions on the Irish Sea yesterday.
Salvage and counter pollution experts will this morning begin assessing the damage to the 82-metre long vessel after it hit rocks near Colwyn Bay.
The Marine and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said the cargo ship was in one piece following yesterday’s incident, but there are growing concerns that it could begin to leak some of the 40,000 litres of fuel it is carrying.
Two lifeboats and a Royal Navy and RAF helicopter were involved in the rescue of the crew members after the cargo ship ‘Carrier’ got into difficulties as the Welsh coast was battered by strong winds and five metre swells.
Five of the seamen were rescued by a Royal Navy Sea King rescue helicopter scrambled from RNAS Prestwick. But the aircraft developed a problem with its winch wire, forcing rescue co-ordinators to send out a second helicopter from RAF Leconfield to collect the remaining two crew members. None of the seven men were injured.
The Welsh government said it was “closely monitoring” the situation and being kept fully informed of developments.
The ship, which is registered in Antigua and Barbuda and was carrying a cargo of stones, is now resting against concrete blocks on the beach at Llanddulas.
The reason for the ship running aground was not yet clear.
PA