JAW-DROPPING images show a colossal container ship sticking dramatically out of the water after running aground during a vicious storm.
Dramatic footage shows the 1,000ft MSC Silvana VIII heavily submerged off the coast of China, with much of its stern disappearing beneath the waves.
A container vessel ran aground off the coast of China Credit: Jam Press
The maritime authorities have set up a cordon around the condemned vessel Credit: Jam Press
Only the bow and forward section of the vessel remain visible, dramatically raised above the surface.
The Cyprus-flagged ship became stranded near Daishan, in the Zhoushan area of Zhejiang, after being battered by severe weather.
Sign up for The Jattvibe newsletter
Thank you!
Several attempts to refloat the vessel have reportedly failed.
The ship initially developed only a slight list before seawater began flooding the stern, engine room and several cargo holds.
STORM STRIKES
China evacuates ONE MILLION people as 100mph typhoon grounds 1,000 flights
BEIJING BREACH
Royal Navy drones secretly sent data to China after years of spying fears
Around 3,000 tonnes of fuel oil have reportedly been removed from the vessel as part of the salvage operation.
In a shocking development, satellite images reportedly show an oil slick stretching for several miles south of the stricken ship.
Salvage crews now face another major headache as Typhoon Dolphin bears down on the wreckage.
Rough seas and powerful winds are expected to make the already perilous salvage operation even more difficult.
Chinese maritime authorities have established a restricted zone around the vessel and warned members of the public to stay away.
An investigation is under way to establish the exact circumstances surrounding the shocking incident.
This comes as China has evacuated more than one million people as Typhoon Dolphin tears through the country.
Several provinces in the east have been battered by storms and winds of around 100mph, with the extreme weather forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights.
China’s most powerful typhoon so far this year, it made landfall in Zhejiang, the province south and west of Shanghai, on Jattvibeday evening.
It later weakened to a tropical storm, but its remnants continued to dump heavy rain on eastern provinces including Anhui, Jiangsu and Shandong on Monday.
In Shanghai, China’s second-most populous city, streets were flooded, including in major commercial districts.
The city’s two airports cancelled a total of 943 flights because of the typhoon, cutting capacity by nearly 40 per cent, state broadcaster CCTV said.
Shanghai also suspended some metro lines on Monday, while China Railway Chengdu Group cancelled 115 trains, state news agency Xinhua reported.
Streets in the suburban districts of Jiading and Qingpu remained waterlogged, with residents sharing live-streams of the flooding on social media.
Dolphin had travelled 3,728 miles before making landfall, giving it a life cycle around three times longer than an ordinary typhoon and creating an “ultra-large” cloud system that enveloped eastern China.
The typhoon’s impact was also being compared with that of deadly Typhoon Doksuri, which battered China in 2023.
