The cargo ship “EEMS SERVANT” got stuck on a sandbank in the estuary of the River Severn. A subsequent attempt to tow the vessel failed, and the ship is expected to remain stuck for the next several days. There have been no known reports of any injuries aboard the vessel so far.
The EEMS SERVANT is a 2,153-ton vessel that is 99m long and 11m wide. The ship ran aground on the sands as it made a turn when approaching the Sharpness docks on Monday, March 4th.
David Palmer, the general manager of SARA Sharpness, stated that it was rare for a vessel to get stuck in the location. He further explained that high floodwater levels coming from the river Severn can cause the sandbanks to shift into the navigation channel. In this case, the sandbanks shifted quite a bit in a short amount of time, which resulted in the ship getting caught in the shifted bank and getting stuck.
A tugboat from Portishead approached the beached vessel the next day, but the attempt to free-tow the vessel failed due to the low tide.
