Salvage chief called to look at grounded cargo ship

A salvage expert is discussing recovery plans with the owners of a cargo vessel that ran aground in the Pentland Firth.

The 89m ship Priscilla remains stranded after initial attempts to refloat the vessel were unsuccessful. It had six people on board when it got into difficulty at around 3:30am on Wednesday on the Pentland Skerries, off the Caithness coast. The coastguard said the vessel had not suffered major damage and there was no sign of any pollution. Efforts were made to tow the vessel.

Hugh Shaw, the secretary of state’s representative for maritime salvage and intervention, is now talking with the vessel’s owner and insurer regarding the future plans for salvage. A spokeswoman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said several attempts to refloat the cargo ship during high water were unsuccessful.