# 19,000 teu vessel hard aground on the Elbe



## callpor (Jan 31, 2007)

One of the world’s largest containerships has run hard aground on the Elbe river as it headed towards the Eurogate terminal at the Port of Hamburg.

From Splash 24/7 this morning:- "The 18,890 teu, 400 m long CSCL Indian Ocean ran into difficulty at around 21.30 hrs last night with local media speculating it was down to either a power outage onboard or a navigational error.

The grounding of the China Shipping vessel has caused some ship traffic to build up. Five tugs were deployed to help the stricken Hong Kong-flagged ship, and an attempt will be made to move it at high tide, likely at noon today.

No leak has been reported.

Critics claim that with the supersizing of containerships the fairway of the Elbe has become too narrow, especially in the event of an accident."

Chris


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## litz (Aug 20, 2012)

AIS track : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcySzdwNGOc


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## valvanuz (Feb 4, 2012)

*red to red or green to green*



litz said:


> AIS track : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcySzdwNGOc


Something odd happens when Indian Ocean is crossing with Empire (sec 11). It seems to me Empire was heading first on a green to green crossing, then moved suddenly right to make it a red to red, while Indian Ocean was moving slightly to port expecting the green to green (Sec 13). As the Empire passed, the port movement of the Indian Ocean may have been increased by a sucking effect. Big ship on a narrow and shallow channel, not much time and room to correct... 

Cannot wait to hear the VHF...


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## callpor (Jan 31, 2007)

More on this incident this morning which raises some interesting issues:-

CSCL mega-ship runs aground in Elbe River

JOC Staff | Feb 04, 2016 11:45AM EST


China Shipping Container Lines’ mega-ship Indian Ocean has run aground in the Elbe river roughly 19 miles from the Port of Hamburg, according to the German newspaper Die Welt.

The difficulties and inability thus far to right the ship and tow it to Hamburg underscore some of the concerns that have been voiced about dealing with mega-ships in distress.

Two towing efforts involving six, and then seven, tugs able to pull 99 tons were unable to free the ship, which ran aground shortly after 10 p.m. local time Wednesday when its steering gear failed to respond to crew commands.

Germany’s Central Command for Maritime Emergencies has since taken control of the situation and is working to find a salvor able to right and move the ship. So far, there does not appear to be any pollution from the accident.

The Elbe river is still navigable due to the quick thinking of the pilot onboard the vessel, Die Welt reported.

The ship, traveling from Felixstowe to Hamburg, had a draft of around 36 feet at the time of the incident, which may give new urgency to plans to dredge the river to handle ships with drafts of 44 feet that are currently held up in the German legal system.

Insurers and others have said that mega-ships are too large for emergencies to be dealt with quickly and efficiently. For example, since not every port can handle mega-ships, if one finds itself in trouble at sea, it may not be able to take refuge at the nearest port because that port lacks the necessary infrastructure.

Another concern is if salvors will have equipment strong enough to handle such ships, and many have said they do not.

The Hong Kong-flagged Indian Ocean has a capacity of 19,100 twenty-foot-equivalent units, 1,000 reefer plugs, and a length of 1,312 feet, according to Sea-web Ships, a sister product of JOC.com within IHS.


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## litz (Aug 20, 2012)

This is turning into quite a mess .... they're defueling her now, and if that doesn't allow them to free her up, they'll have to start pulling boxes off.

Anyone know what the bottom is like in that area?

Mud? Rocks? Ship seems to be pretty stable and upright where it's sitting.


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## Day Sailor (Nov 9, 2014)

When I went to bed last night she was surrounded by tugs but not moving. I see this morning she has finally reached her destination. Hopefully undamaged but maybe needing a new coat of antifoul on her bottom.


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## litz (Aug 20, 2012)

Per gCaptain, it took _twelve tugs_ to free her (plus a massive amount of defueling) ...


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## callpor (Jan 31, 2007)

The issues associated with these gigantic vessels is well summarised by Tobias Koenig in Splash 24/7 today:-

CSCL INDIAN OCEAN grounding must serve as a wake-up call.


The recent grounding of the 19,000 teu container vessel CSCL Indian Ocean was close to being a real catastrophe. But the experienced pilot reacted immediately, when the navigation system failed and prevented the worst from happening. The ship grounded hard on the soft banks of the river.

After initial attempts to pull the ship off the banks had failed, the Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (CCME), which took over the control of the salvage operations together with renowned salvage experts, decided to lighter the vessel as much as possible and commence a dredging operation around the giant ship. Eventually a winter storm and a spring tide in combination with 12 tugs of an aggregated 1,085 tons of bollard pull were needed to refloat the vessel safely.

Everything went extremely well and the situation was certainly handled in a very professional manner, with very little interruption of the regular business and without any oil pollution. No doubt, the Port of Hamburg has proven that it is very well prepared to handle such emergencies.

Regardless, however, this is a wake-up call for the entire maritime industry. The ships are getting bigger and the ports are struggling worldwide to cope with the issues created by the ultra large container vessels (ULCVs).

Which ports along the trade route are capable of pulling a 180,000 dwt vessel off the banks, once stranded? How do you discharge the containers when there is no crane big enough to reach out to the top tiers? How do you place a jack-up platform on the soft grounds of a muddy river? What do you do, if a river or a port entrance is blocked by one of those 400 m long vessels? Who pays for the costs of the ships, which are trapped and those which have to deviate?

I could go on with a long list of questions. All of the important questions have to be discussed and answers must be given in order to be best prepared for emergencies and protect the safety of the people, the environment and the port. There are physical limits to the size of ships and at the same time, there are port limitations, which must be considered.

CSCL is one of the most valuable customers of the port of Hamburg. Losing this carrier because of physical limitations of the port would be a severe financial and economical setback for the entire region. Hamburg is a hub port and a significant number of the containers discharged in Hamburg are transhipped to their final destinations.

The ULCVs are the preferred size in the Far East-Europe trade and until someone proves otherwise, they are here to stay. Therefore, we have to make sure that the coastal trade lanes and the river ports are always safe for these new giants of world trade.


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## Barrie Youde (May 29, 2006)

Well-said, that man!

Is it yet understood what is meant by "the navigion system failed"? Is this the simplified modern equivalent of "the steering gear failed" - as was well understood pre-electronics?

It is always as well to bear in mind that the placing of a quart into a pint pot requires enormous skill and care.


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## callpor (Jan 31, 2007)

Barrie Youde said:


> Well-said, that man!
> 
> Is it yet understood what is meant by "the navigion system failed"? Is this the simplified modern equivalent of "the steering gear failed" - as was well understood pre-electronics?
> 
> It is always as well to bear in mind that the placing of a quart into a pint pot requires enormous skill and care.


Very true! The Port of Hamburg may just be considering how they can continue to safely manage this conundrum?


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## callpor (Jan 31, 2007)

Ultra Large Container Ships: How big is too big?

An excellent article on the subject by Captain George Livingstone FNI in GCaptain today at http://gcaptain.com/ultra-large-containerships-how-big-is-too-big/


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## Barrie Youde (May 29, 2006)

#11

To which it can only be said - Amen.

Alternatively, at what point does commerce become greed?


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