The 8,562 TEU container ship MSC Elaine went out of control at Gioia Tauro harbor and ran onto the southern breakwater tip. The 339-metre-long vessel remains grounded at the entrance of the Italian port, blocking the largest container port in the country.
The incident occurred when the ship was leaving the port on 9 January in the morning (around 09:00 local time).
According to the reports, there are no crew member injuries at the time of writing. Additionally, the Panama-flagged vessel does not seem to have suffered serious damage, and no leak has been reported.
According to MarineTraffic live map, the stranded ship remains at the entrance of the port of Gioia Tauro blocking the Italian gateway, while eight ships remain in the port.
As can be seen in the following video footage, five tugs are operating on the scene trying to pull the 2009-built giant vessel.
The reason for the accident is still unknown with local media reporting that there were not bad weather conditions at the time of the incident.
Gioia Tauro, drone in volo sulla portacontainer MSC rimasta incagliata: 5 rimorchiatori in azione #gioiatauro #calabria #msceliane #localteam pic.twitter.com/F2SXb49itB
— Local Team (@localteamtv) January 9, 2023