I do believe that Jonathan started this thread back a couple
of months ago... either with this group or the boat news group
bunch.

At any rate the vessel has now been freed... but a lot of issues
still have to be resolved before this ship is under charter again.
The following website makes for a good read and it's photo gallery
has a hundred plus photos of the salvage operation. Quite a complex
and I'm certain very expensive undertaking for sure.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/m...-7m11ship.html

We have speculated how this might have occurred in past postings...
but here is what thus far has been concluded:

The APL Panama ran aground at 6:12 p.m. Dec. 25, as it prepared
to enter the port of Ensenada on a regularly scheduled trans-Pacific
run. Mexican authorities attribute the incident to human error on the
part of the vessel's Croatian captain, Zupan Branko; sworn testimony
suggests he broke port rules by steering the ship into restricted
waters without waiting for the guidance of a port pilot.

Hmmm... maybe the Ensenada port pilots charge by the hour...
and the master was trying to cut some corners (no pun intended)
by directing his own duty helmsman until he got closer in? Just
joking...

Enjoy

Bill