The ship was loaded with 1,777 containers and its next port of call would be Nhava Sheva, near Mumbai. The vessel had a crew of 21.

The Hong Kong-registered New Delhi Express had run aground at 12.30pm.

The ship’s local agents, Delta Shipping, immediately approached the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) for a rescue operation.

The KPT pressed six tugs into service to rescue the vessel, finally succeeding in floating it back into the deep at midnight.

Port officials were unable to assign any reason for the failure.

“The incident took place after the pilot had guided the vessel safely outside the approach channel of the harbor and at the outer anchorage,” Shafiq Faridi, a spokesman for KPT said.

In 2003, an oil tanker, Tasman Spirit, ran aground inside the channel near buoy NoS7 and ultimately broke into two, causing a devastating oil spill in the Arabian Sea. The city’s coastline suffered colossal damage.