A team of 12 tugs has pulled together to haul one of the largest container carriers in the world from the bed of the Elbe River, Germany where it had laid grounded for days.
The Chinese Shipping Group's 'CSCL Indian Ocean' ran aground en route to Hamburg.
It took 12 tugs with a combined pulling force of more than 1,000 tonnes and a Spring tide to pull the box carrier free. Five tugs were required to tow and position her in the Hamburg docks where the ship is undergoing inspection.
Dredgers removed 45,000 metres cubed of ground with a particular focus on the whole starboard side and removed around 6,500 tonnes of water and fuel from the ship.
The refloating operation was led by Kotug Offshore and Smit Salvage, in combination with the German Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (CCME).
The operation took 20 minutes and was completed just before 2.30am local time.
Several attempts had previously been made to free the 400-metre 'Indian Ocean' but not proven successful.