SALVAGE teams will try today to refloat an 80m cargo ship which ran aground on rocks close to a lighthouse in an important wildlife haven.
The MV Danio was heading from Perth to Antwerp, Belgium, when it got caught on rocks in the Farnes Islands, three miles off the Northumberland coast, at 4.30am on Saturday.
The vessel, carrying timber, was not thought to be badly damaged and there were no reports of any fuel leak after she got stuck on the Blue Caps, close to the Longstone Lighthouse.
The flat-bottomed vessel is caught on a level area of reef and is stuck in a spot with limited manoeuvrability.
Hugh Shaw, a government official who will oversee the rescue attempt, said it would take place at this evening’s high tide after specialist equipment has arrived from elsewhere in the UK.
“It’s in everyone’s interest to get this done as quickly as we can but we need to make sure we have all the resources we need, rather than rush into it,” he said.
The Farne Islands are internationally known for the thousands of puffins who live there, as well as 6,000 grey seals and more than 20 breeding bird species.
