A cargo ship which ran aground off Happisburgh over the weekend remains stranded for a fourth day.

Eastern Daily Press: The Marine Traffic website shows the Muros (green diamond) aground around eight miles off the coast of Happisburgh. Picture: MARINETRAFFIC.COM/ROB OOSTDIJKThe Marine Traffic website shows the Muros (green diamond) aground around eight miles off the coast of Happisburgh. Picture: MARINETRAFFIC.COM/ROB OOSTDIJK (Image: MARINETRAFFIC.COM)

The Coastguard revealed talks are ongoing over how to save the stricken vessel and its nine crew.

The Spanish ship, Muros, was on course from Tees, UK, to Rochefort, France, when it ran into difficulty eight miles from shore in the early hours of Saturday morning, around 3am.

It is understood it became lodged on a sandbank in an area known as the Haisbro Sand - which has previously claimed countless vessels and lives - after it drifted out of the shipping lane. Mechanical failure has been blamed.

The 89 metre vessel did not suffer any reported damage during the grounding and there was no oil leak following an inspection.

However, attempts to refloat the Muros, with the support of a tug, at high tide on Sunday failed.

A Coastguard spokeswoman said: 'The vessel is still grounded and there is a tug on scene assessing the situation.

'We're working with other agencies to safely refloat the vessel.'

But she added: 'The crew is safe and well and there are no problems with the integrity of the vessel.'