HISTORY was made this morning as the first commercial ship entered Great Yarmouth's outer harbour. The Toisa Polaris, a diving support vessel, arrived in the �50m harbour at around 7.

HISTORY was made this morning as the first commercial ship entered Great Yarmouth's outer harbour.

The Toisa Polaris, a diving support vessel, arrived in the �50m harbour at around 7.30am, quietly making history as the first commercial ship, not involved in harbour construction, to enter the breakwaters.

Great Yarmouth-based Seletar Shipping Ltd, agents for the owners and charterers of the vessel, said it was the first time it was able service such a large vessel in Yarmouth.

Operations manager Andy Surplice, said that the ship's 6.75m draught was beyond the capacity of the existing port, and that the vessel would previously have gone to another UK port, able to handle deep draughted vessels, or to the continent, to load.

Seletar Shipping Ltd act as local agents for the vessel owners, Sealion Shipping Ltd, and the vessel charterer Subsea 7 (UK), providing logistical support and local knowledge to both, as well as many other vessels and clients, that use Great Yarmouth as a base for their Southern North Sea operations.

The 117m long vessel which has a helideck at one end and a large crane at the other is taking locally manufactured concrete mats, used to protect subsea pipes, out to sea for Shell UK.