APL Panama floated
A containership marooned off the coast of Mexico since Christmas has finally been freed from a sandbar near Ensenada, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Friday.
The APL Panama, an 874-foot 4,000-TEU ship, ran aground Dec. 25 near the Port of Ensenada, but salvage crews were unable to dislodge the vessel until they tried a new tactic at the end of February — to dredge a channel allowing seawater to float the vessel.
Stripped of all its containers, tugboats pulled the 874-foot vessel free from the sand after the channel had been dredged close to the ship, the newspaper reported. The ship was then floated about two miles offshore in rough seas, held in place by tugboats at her bow and stern.