Yesterday, a head-on collision of two general cargo ships resulted in closing Germany’s Kiel Canal to traffic for several hours.
As reported, the collision backed up traffic for many hours along the seaway. More precisely, on March 29, two Cypriot-registered general cargo ships were making the transit, when the ships collided head-on while passing near a bridge approaching the city of Kiel near the eastern side of the canal.
As for the first vessel, the 3,450 dwt Paivi was heading west in the canal toward Antwerp. The other vessel was the Bjoerke which was heading east to Sweden at the time. The 5,499 dwt vessel measures 350 feet in length. Both vessels reported severe and extensive damage.
The traffic on the Kiel Canal remained suspended, while tugboats repositioned both vessels to berths in Kiel.
Following the incident, more than 30 emergency forces along with a rescue boat were dispatched by the Kiel fire department, assisted also by two local volunteer fire companies. A drone to survey the full extent of the damage was also deployed.
What is more, 3 crew members from the Paivi were taken to a local hospital, after suffering minor injuries.
According to the canal operators, both vessels were disabled during the accident. One of them actually reported an engine trouble after the collision.
