Goliath at Walmer Castle.

The unmanned 19ft (67m) barge, the Goliath, was being towed by a tug when it started taking in water as it approached the Port of Dover just before 5am.

The planned entrance to Dover Harbour was abandoned and the tug, the Sea Alpha, manoeuvred the barge towards the beach near Walmer and secured it with lines.

A counter-pollution team from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has been alerted in case there is any threat of pollution, as the barge is carrying 138 cubic metres of fuel oil.

Andy Roberts, sector manager for east Kent at the MCA, said this was just a precaution and the agency did not expect any problems with pollution.

The view from Walmer Castle was impressive, as the cannon was trained on the vessel as if in readiness for an invasion.

The Anglian Monarch, a Coastguard Emergency Towing Vessel stood by in case she was needed. She has enough horse power to pull a super tanker through a storm so the barge-crane, Goliath would be no problem.

I'm not sure who is in the small boat, they seemed to be checking, possibly for any polution, or they were from Multraship of Holland who are now on scene, as the appointed salvors.