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Portsmouth cross-Channel ferries stopped as WW2 bomb found | Portsmouth cross-Channel ferries stopped as WW2 bomb found |
(35 minutes later) | |
Cross-Channel ferries to and from Portsmouth have been "cancelled until further notice" following the discovery of a World War Two German bomb. | Cross-Channel ferries to and from Portsmouth have been "cancelled until further notice" following the discovery of a World War Two German bomb. |
The device was found at about 05:00 GMT by a dredging barge on the seabed in Portsmouth Harbour. | |
An 500m exclusion zone has been set up, which is preventing the ferries from entering and leaving the ferry port. | |
Portsmouth Historic Dockyard has also been shut to visitors for the rest of the day. | |
The exclusion zone around the device has meant some Naval base employees have had to be moved to other buildings at the dockyard. | |
Brittany Ferries said it had three ships waiting to come into Portsmouth - two from France and one from Spain. | Brittany Ferries said it had three ships waiting to come into Portsmouth - two from France and one from Spain. |
It said 950 passengers were on board the three ships. | |
David Minton, a passenger stranded on the Normandie which was scheduled to arrive at 06:45 GMT said: "It's getting rather boring, we've had to sit here just twiddling our thumbs, but there's nothing we can do." | |
Nigel Wonnacott of Brittany Ferries said: "We are very sorry for the inconvenience this will cause to our passengers on ships awaiting arrival, as well as passengers at Portsmouth Port waiting to depart." | |
"We'd like to apologise to all our passengers, it's an unexpected and irritating delay which is outside out control - we just have to extend our apologies and ask our passengers to remain patient." | |
Dredging work | Dredging work |
Condor Ferries' Commodore Clipper, which serves the Channel Islands, is also currently holding outside the harbour. | Condor Ferries' Commodore Clipper, which serves the Channel Islands, is also currently holding outside the harbour. |
The Royal Navy said the bomb would be towed out to sea and blown up in a controlled explosion later off the eastern Isle of Wight. | |
It is the third device to be found in the harbour during dredging works since September. | |
Dredging work is being carried out in the harbour to to deepen and widen a four-mile (7km) channel to allow the the navy's new 65,000-tonne aircraft carriers to dock. | Dredging work is being carried out in the harbour to to deepen and widen a four-mile (7km) channel to allow the the navy's new 65,000-tonne aircraft carriers to dock. |
The HMS Queen Elizabeth is due to be handed over to the MoD in 2016 ahead of being put into service in 2020. | The HMS Queen Elizabeth is due to be handed over to the MoD in 2016 ahead of being put into service in 2020. |