Cargo ship becomes stuck in Cambs river near Wisbech

A cargo ship became stuck fast in a Cambridgeshire river on Tuesday (June 25). The Baltic Arrow ran aground in the River Nene, with work to refloat her due to take place at the next high tide.

The vessel is understood to have been become stuck close to West Walton at just before 9am. The ship is believed to be carrying timber and was sailing from Riga in Latvia to the Port of Wisbech.

Dramatic photos taken by Charlie Brittain at the scene earlier show the ship at an angle, completely blocking the flow of marine traffic on the river. The Port of Wisbech described the incident as a "rare situation".

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An investigation is due to take place to find out why the ship grounded. No injuries or damage to the ship were reported.

A spokesperson told the BBC earlier on Tuesday: "Since tide has fallen away, plan is to wait until vessel is afloat at next high water to free her from banks with additional tug assistance and continue her pilotage safely into Wisbech Port.

"This is a rare situation to happen at Wisbech. We hope to have vessel freed this evening and bring her alongside for discharging as usual."

According to AIS (Automatic Identification System) marine tracking, the 79.98 metre long and 12.16m wide Baltic Arrow is a general cargo ship.

The ship is sailing under the flag of St Kitts Nevis. Its last port stop was Brunsbüttel in Germany in the early hours of Sunday (June 23).

As of 9.43pm on Tuesday, the ship's status was still listed as "aground", with the next high tide due at 10pm. Tugs from Wisbech and Kings Lynn were at the scene.