Timber waves
- 00:01:10
- ITN
Timber waves
A cargo ship has lost 1,500 metric tonnes of timber in rough seas in the English Channel, coastguards have said. A spokesman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said that the Russian-registered cargo ship Sinegorsk reported that it had lost the wood around 14 miles off the coast of Newhaven, East Sussex. A spokeswoman for the MCA said the timber was floating further east than originally predicted and was heading towards the Kent coastline. She said: "We thought at first it was heading towards Brighton and Hastings to arrive there later today, but now it's looking to go round Dungeness. "It may actually avoid the coastline entirely and go on up through the Dover Strait." She added that coastguards are continuing to look at tidal patterns and were assessing the weather to monitor its course. A meeting between local authorities, police and the Environment Agency was taking place in Brighton to discuss contingencies if the wood is washed ashore. The ship had been bound for Alexandria, Egypt, but started heading towards Portsmouth as it was listing 15 degrees to one side. The 450ft ship's list reduced to between five and ten degrees after members of the 25-strong crew took ballast water into its starboard side to help even it out. Fred Caygill, of the MCA, said the Marine Accident Investigation Branch would be investigating how the ship came to lose the timber but added that the rough seas were likely to have been a factor. In January last year more than 2,000 tonnes of timber was washed up along the coast of Sussex after the Greek-registered Ice Prince sank about 26 miles south of Dorset.
ITN | January 19, 2009
