GRANDE SIERRA LEONE
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Blackout on the Weser
On Aug 26, 2025, at around 3:50 a.m. the engine of the 'Grande Sierra Leone' failed after a technical malfunction in the engine control room caused a blackout, while the ship was sailing on the Weser River en route from Antwerp to Bremerhaven. The disabled vehicles carrier emergency anchored on the Weser and was pulled into the port by several tugs at around 5:10 a.m. It was safely moored at the Strom Quay in pos. 53° 35' N 008° 32' E. No injuries or environmental damage occurred. According to initial investigations by the Bremen Waterways Police, a technical defect in the engine control room was responsible for the failure. Further investigations into the cause were ongoing. Only after the completion of repairs and the subsequent class confirmation by the monitoring classification society, the ship was permitted to leave Bremerhaven again. It sailed from the port on Aug 29, en route to Valencia with an ETA as of Sep 2.
Ship sailed in circles for hours due to missing health document
The "Grande Sierra Leone" was taken in quarantine off the Belgian coast because a health document was not delivered amid the growing tension around the Ebola virus. On return from West Africa, after a call in Tilbury, the ship set sail for Antwerp on Oct 25, 2014. On Oct 26 round 8.30 a.m. the West Flemish sea pilot came on board to bring the ship to Flushing in accordance with the normal routine until at Vlissingen the authorities stopped the ship. After it was found out that the shipping agent in Antwerp in fact had submitted a health document, the ship was allowed to dock after having sailed in circles for hours.
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