Ship ran aground after officer went to the toilet

An investigation into what made a Latvian cargo ship run aground near Ramsey has found its chief officer left the bridge unattended.

A Freedom of Information request to the Department for Enterprise has resulted in a copy of the Manx ship registry's report into the accident being released.

It says the GEG Orbit ended up stranded at Cranstal in the early hours of August 26 last year after the chief officer went to the toilet and so didn't change course at the right time.

The ship was eventually refloated and suffered no serious damage during the incident.