Northern Ireland

A ship carrying scrap steel and bound for Gent, Belgium is currently aground three miles off the coast between Larne and Glenarm, Northern Ireland. The Antigua and Barbuda registered ship, 'Antari', has seven crew on board, all of whom are uninjured. There appears to be no damage to the 87 metre 'Antari' and no pollution.

Belfast Coastguard has requested the Larne Coastguard Rescue Team to act as its 'eyes and ears' on the land side throughout the early hours, reporting back any changes to the stranded vessel. Seaward, the Larne RNLI lifeboat has been requested to launch and is now standing off the ship.

Liam Colquhoun, Belfast Coastguard Watch Manager says:

"We received a 999 call from a member of the public at 3.00 am, reporting that the ship appeared unusually close to shore. We were able to confirm this using AIS, a computerised system which shows us the position of ships. We then contacted the 'Antari' which confirmed it was aground. The weather on scene is quite calm at the moment with westerly force 3 winds and good visibility. The next high tide is 7.45 am, when we hope that the ship will be able to refloat."

Client ref 5.20 am

COI ref 162754P