A 2-week cruise departure from Southampton has been delayed after nearly twenty containers from a cargo vessel fell into the Solent, obstructing the passage of the cruise ship Iona of P&O Cruises. The incident occurred Saturday evening, December 6th, when 18 containers, carrying non-hazardous goods, were reported overboard near the Nab Tower off the Isle of Wight.
No injuries were reported by HM Coastguard, which confirmed that crews are patrolling the area and broadcasting warnings to local shipping.
The loss of containers has disrupted shipping traffic in and out of Southampton, which resulted in Iona remaining docked beyond its scheduled departure.
At the time of the incident, Iona had been due to begin a 14-night voyage to Funchal, Madeira, Spain, Portugal and the Canary Islands. The delay comes amid ongoing recovery efforts to locate and secure the lost cargo before safe resumption of navigational operations.
For more Iona incidents and accidents, see the ship's CruiseMinus page.