Container Ship Stuck On Sand Bar Off Mexico's Northern Pacific Coast

A private U.S. company was working to rescue a container ship that has been hung up on a beach off Mexico's northern Pacific coast since Christmas Day, a Mexican port Captain confirmed. The Panama drew onlookers to the beach off Ensenada when it ran aground.The Antigua & Barbuda-registered barge, bearing the name APL Panama and originating in Oakland, was preparing to enter the Mexican port of Ensenada on Dec. 25 when it became stuck about 1.5 miles south of its destination, port Capt. Jose Luis Rios Hernandez told The Associated Press by telephone. Mexican officials hired a U.S company specializing in marine salvage operations to rescue the ship, but so far the company has had no luck, Hernandez said. The Captain added that he believed it might take as much as a month to free the ship's hull and propellers from the sand. The 850-foot-long ship was carrying about 35,000 tons of cargo, Rios said. Officials had not determined the cause of the mishap and the Captain of the ship had not yet given a statement, he said.