COASTGUARDS were keeping a close watch on up to 1,500 tonnes of timber shed by a Russian-registered cargo ship off the coast of East Sussex.

The 450ft ship Sinegorsk issued an alert in rough seas at 8.15am on Monday after it lost some of its load around 14 miles off Newhaven.

Fred Olsen's 43,537 ton Barlmoral is due to leave Dover Port 27 January, with 1400-passengers onboard and 500 crew to head for the Canary Islands on a £795 seven day cruise.

UK Coastguard issued a warning to all major cruise lines using the English Channel for fear the wood could cause damage to ships, especially at night.

A spokeswoman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said the wood, made up of sawn timber that had been stored in bundles on the vessel, had stayed together in one block and initially floated around 10 miles up the coast in an eastwards direction after being dropped.

The vessel, which had come from Oskarshamn, Sweden, and was bound for Alexandria, Egypt, was subsequently forced to anchor off Sandown on the Isle of Wight in the Solent, while the damage was assessed and the rest of its load secured.

It was listing 15 degrees to one side when it lost the wood in rough seas, but this was reduced to between five and 10 degrees after members of the 25-strong crew took ballast water into its starboard side to even it out. The ship had been escorted into Southampton Dock by a pilot vessel.

Throughout the night, coastguard tug Anglian Earl remained near the scene to monitor the wood's movement and warn other ships to keep their distance.

A Dover Coastguard spokesman said a pollution aircraft was due to fly out to monitor the drift rate and check if the timber had split up or stayed in one body.

The MCA said it looked as though the timber might be washed up on the coast at Dungeness in Kent late on Wednesday or on Thursday morning in the Dymchurch area, but its course depended on the weather. It said the Receiver of Wreck had been kept informed of the current situation in case the timber came ashore.

An MCA spokeswoman said the agency would continue to assess tidal patterns and the weather to monitor where the wood floated.

She added that it was expected to continue on course towards Dungeness but could bypass the British coastline altogether.