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One of the world’s biggest containerships is hard aground in Germany’s Elbe River leading to the port of Hamburg.
The vessel CSCL Indian Ocean ran aground Wednesday night at 21:20 UTC. Initial reports said the incident was caused by an apparent mechanical failure.
An attempt to refloat the ship at around noon local time was unsuccessful.
Germany’s Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (CCME) says it has been in touch with the ship owner and they are in the process of developing a salvage plan. A second attempt to refloat the ship is expected during the next high tide at 00:30 a.m. Friday.
An overflight of the area Thursday showed no signs of pollution. There were no injuries reported.
The Hong Kong-flagged ultra large container vessel (ULCV) CSCL Indian Ocean measures 399.6 meters long by 58.6 meters wide. The vessel belongs to China Shipping Container Lines, part of China Shipping Group. It is one of 5 CSCL ships with the capacity to carry a staggering 19,100 twenty foot containers.
The incident has caused minor impacts to ship traffic on the Elbe River.
An update from the CCME said crews will begin removing some fuel from grounded the ship. The tugs Dolphin and Boxer will remain on scene overnight. The pollution control vessel Neuwerk is also on site.
Below is an AIS replay of the grounding:
CSCL Indian Ocean is part of a new breed of giant containerships designed to carry more than 18,000 TEUs and used to transport goods from Asia to northern Europe.
Posted on February 5, 2016, 12:37 am
CSCL INDIAN OCEAN with 30 crew and pilot on board reported grounding to maritime authorities at 2210 CET Feb 3, grounding was caused by steering system failure. Vessel ran aground in high water 1.5 meters above average, having 12.1 meters draft. During the night Feb 4 six tugs tried to refloat vessel, but attempts failed. Draft loss is understood to be about half a meter. In the afternoon Feb 4 bunker tanker came alongside, to pump out some 3,000 tons of fuel. Dredger will most probably be deployed to deepen bottom at CSCL INDIAN OCEAN side. It is understood, that max high water coming with new moon will be on Feb 9, so probably, this date will be decisive for salvage. In worst scenario, vessel will have to be offloaded, meaning that thousands of containers will be off loaded by floating crane onto barges or lighters.
Photo: Peter Frischmuth/ argus
Previous news: http://www.news.odin.tc/index.php?page=view/article/2620/Ultra-large-container-ship-CSCL-INDIAN-OCEAN-hard-aground-Elbe
Photo: Peter Frischmuth/ argus
Previous news: http://www.news.odin.tc/index.php?page=view/article/2620/Ultra-large-container-ship-CSCL-INDIAN-OCEAN-hard-aground-Elbe
Rescue Teams Start Removing Oil from Grounded CSCL Indian Ocean
Image Courtesy: Youtube
Authorities started pumping oil from the grounded containership CSCL Indian Ocean on the Elbe River in an attempt to move the vessel as it becomes lighter, the German Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration said.
A bunkering vessel arrived on site last night and the tugs Dolphin and Boxer remained overnight to monitor operations.
The decision to lighten the ship comes after the rescue teams failed to refloat it on Thursday.
The administration added that they are in contact with Shanghai-based China Shipping Container Lines, the owner of the 184,320 dwt boxship, and that they are working on a rescue plan.
CSCL Indian Ocean is not expected to move until the late hours today, when another attempt to free the 2015-built vessel is planned. If the attempt turns out to be successful, the vessel will be towed to the port of Hamburg.
The 400-meter-long containership, one of the world’s biggest, ran aground in the evening hours of February 3.
The incident, which was caused by a failure in the navigation system, did not lead to any pollution in the area, and there were no injuries to the crew members.
CSCL Indian Ocean is affecting the vessel traffic on site, the authority said.
World Maritime News Staff