Container ship spends hours on mud

The Maritime Safety Authority will investigate why a container ship ran aground in the Manukau Harbour on Saturday, leaving its crew stranded for nearly eight hours.

Auckland Harbourmaster James McPetrie said the Spirit of Enterprise, bound for Lyttelton, became stuck in mud about 7 am after straying out of the harbour's channel.

By mid-morning, the crew could do little but climb overboard and wade around in the mud themselves while waiting for high tide later in the afternoon.

"She wasn't going to fall over and there was no damage or pollution. It was best just to wait for the tide and let it lift her off again," said Mr McPetrie.

"The whole thing's more of a cause for embarrassment than anything else."

Ships did not normally run aground in the harbour and the Maritime Safety Authority would now conduct a full inquiry.

Rod Grout, chief executive of Pacifica Shipping, the company that operates the vessel, said the master of the ship was new to his command and had requested a pilot to guide him into port.

He said it was the first time he could recall the company using a pilot at Manukau, and the first time a Pacifica Shipping vessel had run aground there.

"We have ships going in there twice a week, so we're pretty experienced going in and out of there," he said.

"You use a pilot because they're meant to have the local knowledge."

But it was not the first time the Spirit of Enterprise had run into trouble.

Mr Grout said the ship ran aground in Dunedin last year, under the command of a different master.