Marco Polo was close to sinking

— At 1:10 p.m., Marco Polo ran aground. I saw her start drifting and called my boss. Then I threw myself there, he tells Blekinge County Newspaper.

When Leo Vidal stepped aboard the Marco Polo this Sunday, the ship had drifted away and then run aground a third time. There was a strong northerly gale and the salvage leader told him that the ferry had taken in more water than could be pumped out and was close to sinking. The pilot himself saw water that had flowed onto the lower car deck.

It was clear that the towing into Stillerydshamnen in Karlshamn that was planned would be complicated.

— The ship has pretty much no bottom left. She was brought into the harbor on an air cushion, which allowed her to float, says Leo Vidal to the newspaper.

On November 1, the Marco Polo was pulled out to deeper water and the following day the wrecked ferry was towed into Stillerydshamnen. The shipping company TT-Line has informed the Coast Guard that the plan is for the ferry to be towed to Polish Gdansk later this week.

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