The German Bureau of Maritime Casualty Investigation published its report on the foundering of the fishing vessel RAMONA in the mouth of the River Elbe on 21 September 2021.
The incident
At about 0530 on 21 September 2021, the German-flagged fishing vessel RAMONA set sail from Cuxhaven for the Heligoland Bight. There were five people on board: two crew members and three scientists from the Thünen Institute of Sea Fisheries Bremerhaven. Since the swell was continuously increasing, everyone on board decided to sail back so as to make further hauls3 in calmer waters for scientific evaluation.
At about 0900, the skipper noticed that planks in the fore section were coming loose and the vessel was making water. The water ingress was so heavy that the skipper made a distress call at 0921 and instructed everyone to put on their survival suit and climb into the liferaft carried on the vessel, which had been activated in the meantime.
Shortly afterwards, everyone was taken on board and transported to Cuxhaven by the fishing vessel HOFFNUNG, which was the first to arrive at the accident position. The DGzRS rescue cruiser ANNELIESE KRAMER, which had also reached the scene of the accident in the meantime, attempted to deploy bilge pumps but the RAMONA took on water too quickly and foundered at 1026 in a water depth of about 7 m.
The vessel was to be raised in the days that followed. A salvage order was issued against the owner. However, since the tide was causing the wreck to move constantly on the seabed, the hull disintegrated so quickly that on 19 October 2021, WSA ElbeNordsee in Cuxhaven decided not to salvage the vessel.
None of the five people on board the fishing vessel was able to explain how the damage to the bow occurred. In particular, no allision with a buoy or other floating object such as a partially submerged container was observed. The recorded AIS track confirms there was no encounter with a buoy. WSA Elbe-Nordsee stated that there was reportedly no knowledge of any floating containers at the time of the accident.
An allision with the pier when the vessel was casting off in Cuxhaven was also denied. To substantiate this statement, the WSP inspected the pier on behalf of the BSU and found no damage or even traces of paint that could have indicated that the RAMONA had an allision with the pier.
The files of the Ship Safety Division (BG Verkehr) show that the last survey of the RAMONA took place during a call at a shipyard prior to the accident on 6 June 2019. No deficiencies were found. Inter alia, the shipyard repaired the aft section of the wooden hull.
Conclusions
Due to the total loss of the fishing vessel, the BSU was unable to determine the cause of the damage that occurred. It appears likely that there must have been a barely noticeable collision with an obstacle in the water, which caused the planks on the bow to loosen, followed by rapid and heavy water ingress. It seems rather improbable that the RAMONA struck an obstacle while casting off in Cuxhaven such that she remained afloat for another three hours with the unnoticed damage. However, it is possible that a minor allision occurred when she cast off, causing the planks at the bow to loosen almost unnoticeably and then continue to loosen more and more over the hours that followed due to the swell, until the water ingress became so heavy that it was noticeable.
Despite the fortuitous reality that the DGzRS took photographs of the distressed fishing vessel, the one photograph that actually shows the damage on the bow is so blurred that it is impossible to draw any conclusions from it. Inconspicuous flecks of a different colour can be seen on the loose planks, which look like minor damage and paint abrasions and could thus point to an allision. However, these flecks of colour may have been caused by other influences that are not connected with the accident under investigation. Since evidence of either possibility could not be found, the cause of the accident must ultimately remain open due to the lack of other findings.
The conduct of the skipper, who calmly and prudently took the right action when he noticed that the RAMONA had suffered water ingress that he could no longer compensate for with on-board resources, should be emphasised. It is thanks to his prudent decisions that nobody suffered any injuries.
explore more at bsu’s accident report
Rusted fasteners, rotten planking or stem, freeze damaged wood, etc. There’s many ways that a wooden boat hull can fail over time.