The longest boat to ever dock in Aberdeen sustained damage to its hull while in the city’s new harbour.
Construction is under way on a £350 million expansion of the city’s port at the Bay of Nigg, before an estimated summer 2020 completion date.
As part of the works, the 580ft MV Beltnes has helped deliver thousands of tonnes of material for the creation of the Dunnottar and Castlegate quays.
However, an investigation was launched earlier this month after claims the vessel was left berthed in the harbour for several days after scraping the bottom.
The probe is still ongoing, however a Maritime and Coastguard agency spokeswoman said: “We can confirm that the MCA’s Aberdeen Marine Office received a report from one of their Duty Surveyors on July 1 that MV Beltnes had suffered hull damage on June 29 while inside the approach channel of Aberdeen Harbour expansion project.
“The vessel was attended by a class surveyor and a dive survey was carried out on June 30 and damage was confirmed.”
Classification body DNV-GL surveyed the vessel and it was agreed to send it for repairs.
The MCA spokeswoman said: “The DNV-GL surveyor and Flag State (Antigua Barbuda) agreed for the vessel to carry out a single voyage to Bremerhaven for repairs.
“The DNV-GL sent the survey report to the duty surveyor which was forwarded to the Aberdeen Marine Office.
“The Aberdeen Marine Office contacted Aberdeen Harbour Authority who confirmed the vessel would not be coming alongside and it was leaving for the repair voyage.
“Port State Control in Germany have also been notified.”
In May, harbour bosses hailed the arrival of the ship, the longest to ever dock in Aberdeen, which they said marked a “real tipping point” for Aberdeen Harbour.
The extension of the new harbour at Bay of Nigg will allow larger cruise ships to berth.
It has been described as a “game changer” for the cruise market since it will allow much larger ships to enter the port.
An Aberdeen Harbour Board spokeswoman said: “We received reports that the Beltnes sustained superficial damage so we reported it to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency at the time and a dive survey was carried out.
“The vessel departed from the site on time and will return to complete operations.”