Damage off Wangerooge
Container ship is stuck in the mudflats – preparations for salvage are underway
The “Mumbai Maersk” surrounded by tugboats. The 400 meter long container ship got stuck on Wednesday evening about six kilometers north of the East Frisian island of Wangerooge.
© Sina Schuldt/ / Picture Alliance
A container ship has run aground off the North Sea island of Wangerooge. Now a salvage company is to tow the 400 meter long ocean giant free. Preparations are underway.
For the container ship “Mumbai Maersk”, which ran aground in the North Sea on Wednesday, preparations are being made for another towing attempt during floods. A sounding ship had been ordered to the scene of the accident to obtain up-to-date information on the water depths, the emergency command in Cuxhaven announced on Thursday.
The 400-meter-long “Mumbai Maersk” got stuck on Wednesday evening about six kilometers north of the East Frisian island of Wangerooge. The Danish-flagged ship was en route from Rotterdam to Bremerhaven. According to information from the CCME, it ran aground when approaching the mouth of the Weser.
The shipping company had signed a contract with a salvage company, the CCME announced. As soon as the preparations are complete and powerful tugboats are on site, another attempt at salvage should be made “at optimal water levels”. It is being worked closely with the shipping company and a salvage concept is currently being developed, it said.
The emergency command took over the management of the operation. The two multi-purpose ships “Neuwerk” and “Mellum” and five other tugboats were ordered to the scene of the accident. A team from the CCME also went on board the container ship.
For the salvage, the tugboats want to wait for optimal flood conditions
A spokesman in Cuxhaven, however, was reluctant to answer the question of whether a new towing attempt could be made at around 1 p.m. during the coming midday high tide. According to the forecast, the flood after next will be higher at night and will therefore be cheaper. A first attempt to tow the ship free failed in the early hours of Thursday morning.
It was only at the weekend that an unloaded freighter got into trouble in a strong storm off the East Frisian coast. In the end, however, he was able to continue his journey to Denmark under his own steam.