The small container ship Clonlee ran aground at the entrance to the river Tyne on 16 March after she lost power as she was entering the river. The Sietas-built Clonlee (1996/3,999gt, ex-Vera) was heading into the river at around 0100 when she suffered a power failure and her engines stopped working, leaving the vessel to drift towards the sand banks.
The 101.1m ship, which is registered in the Isle of Man and managed by North Atlantic Shipping Ltd, was left sitting upright as the tide went out. None of the 12 crew members on board was injured, but they had to waituntil the tide turned before their ship could be freed. The vessel was carrying general cargo and drifted towards Littlehaven beach during the incident. The port’s tugs assisted in getting the ship free.
The Harbour Master was informed and was monitoring the ship at the mouth of the estuary on the South Shields side, and there were no environmental concerns in terms of pollution. The ship was refloated with the tide and berthed safely at the Port of Tyne later that morning.
