Rotterdam-based marine services group Smit is to salvage the container ship MSC Napoli which got into trouble during Thursday’s storm and is now stuck on a sandbank off the English coast. A spokeswoman declined to give details on Sunday but told ANP a Smit vessel was on its way to the Napoli for the towage operation.

The MSC Napoli suffered structural damage during Thursday’s storms and was beached on a sandbank to stop it sinking in deep water. It is thought that up to 200 tonnes of oil may have leaked from a fuel tank. Efforts are now underway to keep the oil from reaching the shore. Some 150 of the 2,400 containers the Napoli was carrying have gone overboard
The BBC reported that that the ship had previously ran aground off Singapore in 2001.