Banana containers cause shipping disruption in Solent

Steve Wenham, from Portsmouth, who has worked on ferries in the Solent, said the Baltic Klipper was a refrigerated vessel specialising in soft fruits, and was a "regular visitor" to the area.

"She normally does a round-robin trip every month from the Caribbean or West Africa," he said.

"If any containers have sunk they're not going to be a problem, but it's the ones that are still afloat, they're the hazard."

He said the drifting containers were a "massive issue" because they could float into the shipping lanes and "cause a great deal of damage".

Iona, which has a capacity of 5,200 passengers, had been due to set off on Saturday for a 14-day trip to Spain, Portugal and the Canary Islands.

It was eventually given clearance at about 13:00 GMT on Sunday.