A vessel in Peel Marina has been refloated after it started sinking last week.

The fishing boat, named Claire Anne, suddenly started sinking overnight on May 25 and began leaking diesel.

Harbour staff tended to the pumps, deployed a counter pollution boom around the vessel and cordoned off the harbour.

Attempts were made to pump the vessel out during the afternoon but were unsuccessful.

Claire Anne was raised on Monday and the remaining fuel has been pumped to shore.

Mark Kenyon, director of harbours, said: ’This isn’t a peculiar event as boats often succumb to their age but the vessel has been floated.

’A dive inspection of the hull and some repairs led to a second pumping effort assisted by the fire service but it could not be fully floated.’

Harbour bosses’ main concern was to mitigate the potential environmental damage from the quantities of fuel being released into the sea.

Mr Kenyon added: ’There were two and a half to three-thousand litres on board but we can’t say for sure how much was lost.’

Diesel can be harmful to the environment, especially to birds as it can get stuck in their feathers.

’Most of it evaporates but the worry is if it washes up on the beach and we don’t want the children of Peel to be paddling in it,’ he said.

The owner of the vessel lives in the UK and was planning to come to the island once border restrictions had lifted and the aim was for the boat to have been moved by later this summer.

Mr Kenyon said: ’He has paid for a boat he can’t get to but he’s happy to cover the costs.’

A surveyor will assess the condition of the boat, then will confer with the owner and a decision will be made regarding the future of the vessel.