Over 200 passengers and 100 crew on a Dublin-Liverpool ferry are stranded on the River Mersey today after a large bomb was seen floating in the water.
The 500-pound device, thought to be a second World War relic, was reported to the coastguard as being near the entrance to Twelve Quays Dock in Birkenhead at around midnight.
Two ships, the Mersey Vikingand Dublin Viking, which were bringing passengers from Belfast and Dublin, were ordered to wait further up the River Mersey when they arrived at 3.40am and 4.30am, respectively.
The Mersey Vikinghas 164 passengers and 55 crew on board; the Dublin Vikinghas 81 passengers and 46 crew, and both vessels have been at sea since last night.
A coastguard spokesman said the device was also only 300 metres from a road tunnel linking Liverpool to Birkenhead under the Mersey. The tunnel was closed by police whilst the bomb was being dealt with.
The navy is slowly towing the bomb out to deeper water in the Irish Sea where it will be lowered to the sea bed and a diver will prepare it for a safe detonation.
A spokesman for the ferry operator told ireland.com: "We are keeping the passengers informed but don't expect the situation to last a very long time. The ferries will dock as soon as it is safe."