A walker who spotted a “massive object” in the sea off the coast of North Wales was left wondering whether a new island had suddenly sprouted out of nowhere.
Visitor Lisa Kearns was walking the Wales Coast Path near Deganwy golf course, Conwy, when she sighted the strange vision off-shore from the Great Orme, Llandudno. At first she assumed it must be a ship but called for help identifying it on social media, North Wales Live reports.
She said: “It looks like an island but we think it’s a ship.” After a few should-have-gone to-Specsavers comments, the object was confirmed as a large container ship and specifically the MSC Bianca. With storm-damaged Holyhead Port still closed, the vessel was thought to be heading for Liverpool instead.
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The MSC Bianca is floating off the coast
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Image:
kees torn/Wiki/WALES NEWS SERVICE)
“Sitting to be brought into Liverpool docks,” one man explained to Lisa. “The boat will be waiting for a pilot skipper to take her in.” The MSC Bianca is a 328-metre long monster that was built in China in 2019. With a home port in Monrovia, it’s currently sailing under the flag of Liberia. Think my Temu order might be on there somewhere,” quipped an Ysbyty Glan Clwyd worker online.
Lisa spotted the ship on Friday, January 3. The MSC Bianca duly docked in Liverpool the following day and, after unloading, departed in the early hours of Tuesday, January 7. Next stop is the port of Wilhelmshaven, Germany, on Friday, January 10. Liverpool is in fact a regular port of call for the 112,695-tonne ocean-crossing ship.
Lisa’s natural curiosity earned a few online brickbats but she was unperturbed by it all. Tongue in cheek, she confessed to being slightly disappointed that the mystery object was nothing more interesting than a container ship. “I really wanted to name my new-found island as well,” she joked