The vessel was carrying 2,000 tonnes of plastics

The RMS Mulheim, which was carrying waste plastic from Cork to Germany, is wedged on rocks at Sennen.

Salvagers attempted to remove 20 tonnes of diesel from the vessel on Sunday, but were thwarted by a heavy swell.

The salvage team hopes to start removing the vessel's 2,000-tonne cargo this week with the help of a mobile platform.

A coastguard team was airlifted onto the vessel on Saturday to open some of the cargo hatches, ready for the contents to be taken out.

Breaking up

But they have to complete the operation before the weather turns.

A coastguard spokeswoman said a mobile platform rig would be brought in mid-week, to assist in the removal of materials from the vessel.

She said: "They are trying to speed up the process before any bad weather as there's still a risk of the Mulheim breaking up."

If that happened, the plastic would pollute the Cornish coastline.

A conveyor belt will be used to remove one-tonne bags of the cargo.

Once the cargo and the fuel has been removed, the vessel will be left at the mercy of the sea as it cannot be removed from the rocks, according to the coastguard.