Cargo ship runs aground on Northumberland coast

An 80 metre long ship has run aground on rocks near to the Farne Islands.

The MV Danio was carrying timbre from Perth in Scotland to Antwerp in Belgium when it hit when it struck the Blue Caps rocks at about 4.30 am Saturday morning.

The Seahouses RNLI lifeboat was immediately launched but attempts to tow the Danio to deeper waters had to be abandoned due to the outgoing tide.

The islands lie just three miles off the Northumberland coast.

They are part of an important wildlife haven for sea birds.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said there was no fuel leak from the MV Danio.

A spokesman said the master of the vessel reported the incident to the Coastguard and a salvage plan was being prepared.

"There was no-one injured and no pollution observed at this time," the spokesman said.

"The Maritime and Coastguard Agency have been in touch with all relevant parties to ensure that the owners of the vessel have a salvage plan in place for the refloating of the vessel at the next high tide, which is this evening."

Andrew Douglas, who runs boat trips round the Farnes from Seahouses, said the Danio was carrying logs.

He said: "She seems to be fine at the moment, and doesn't appear to be holed.

"But it is worrying because all the birds are starting to return to the islands for the summer.

"We have 20,000 guillemots on the Farnes right now."

The Farne Islands are also home to puffins, grey seals and more than 20 bird species breed there.

David Steel, the National Trust's head ranger for the Farnes, said: "We got lucky.

"The birds are not back and there does not seem to be any damage to the ship, so we got away with it.

"The Farnes are internationally-important for nesting sea birds. We have 80,000 pairs of sea birds including 37,000 pairs of puffins."