Cargo ship stranded off Caithness back on the water

A cargo ship which had been stranded for the past week after running aground has been refloated.

The MV Priscilla had been stuck on the Pentland Skerries off the Caithness coast since July 18.

It was refloated at high water at around 9pm on Wednesday and is being towed into Scapa Flow in Orkney with a lifeboat providing safety cover, the coastguard said.

Part of the ship's 3,300 tonne cargo of fertiliser was offloaded onto a barge to lighten the vessel, while 28 tonnes of oil were also removed to prepare for the refloating attempt.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said: At around 9pm on Wednesday the MV Priscilla was successfully re-floated.

Following an initial assessment it was agreed she was in safe condition to be towed to Scapa Flow, Orkney Isles.

The vessel will arrive on Thursday morning and will go to safe anchorage where a further assessment, including an underwater dive inspection, will be carried out.''

Six crew were on board the vessel when it ran aground last week and were said to be safe and well following the incident