INTER I

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Towed by Christos XXII to Piraeus http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=3099161

Dredger saved crew of sand barge which capsized on Wester Scheldt

On the Wester Scheldt at the Hooge Plate the Dutch flagged, self propelled barge "Willem", 2100 ts (EU-No.: 2007046), sank in the evening of Mar 30, 2015. The 80-m-ship had suffered water ingress at 7.30 p.m. and capsized 15 minutes later. The crew of two was saved uninjured by the Dutch dredger "Interballast I" and taken to the KNRM station in Breskens. Rijkwaterstaat deployed the patrol boat "RWS 79" to check the sinking site for possible oil spills. On Mar 31 the sheerleg Cormorant of Multraship was deployed from the Gent - Terneuzen Canal to the incident site being towed by the tugs "Hendrik 7" and "Multratug 22". Dutch reports with photos and video: http://www.knrm.nl/waar-wij-zijn/reddingstations/breskens/reddingrapporten/wederom-beunschip-gekapseisd-64a5acafb1 http://www.omroepzeeland.nl/nieuws/2015-03-30/839032/beunschip-willem-gekapseisd-op-westerschelde#.VRpGkdWQlnU http://www.hvzeeland.nl/nieuws/26217-schip-gekapseisd-op-westerschelde/ http://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2015/03/30/binnenvaartschip-gezonken-op-westerschelde/ http://www.nu.nl/binnenland/4021621/binnenvaartschip-gekapseisd-en-gezonken-westerschelde.html#slide-2

Barge capsized alongside dredger

On Feb 6 around midnight the Dutch barge "Rick", 1394 ts (EU-No.: 02008018; MMSI-No.: 244660021; CS: PE7640), capsized alongside the "Interballast 1" while receiving a cargo of sand on the Wester Scheldt off the Hoofd plate, three kilometers northeast of Breskens. Two crew mbembers were rescued; one person was still missing. One person who had been on deck was recovered from the water soon after the accident by the crew of the dredger and taken to an ambulance in Breskens at 1.40 a.m. Several lifeboats of the KNRM from stations such as Breskens and Hansweert, with the Cadzand boat first on scene at 1 a.m., followed by the the police launch "P 41" at 1.15. a.m., a police helicopter at 2.20 a.m., the "Maeslant" of Rijkswaterstaat, the pilot boats "Patrol", "Gemini Pilots" and "Deurloo" the mine sweeper BNS "Bellis - M 916" of the Belgian Navy, divers of the Dutch Navy who were called from Den Helder, divers from Multraship and other ships with their rescue boats were searching for the crew who had been sleeping when the ship capsized. The water temperature was approximately 4 degrees Celsius. At 3.20 a.m. the search was stopped, but at 7:45 a.m. a second man was rescued. He was hypothermic, but conscious. Probably an air bubble in the ship saved his life. The crane ship "Cormorant" was called from Sluiskil was sent to the capsized ship. The accident happened when the dredger "Interballast-1" was loading gravel onto the "Rick" when the barge suddenly turned over. The wheelhouse was smashed. Divers knocking on the hull did not get answer. The situation of the wreck was instable, so it was secured by the tug "Multratug 22" which was keeping it since 2.10 a.m. from drifting away and pushed it slwoly onto a sandbar. The search was meanwhile stopped, and the rescue forces were waiting for the water level to drop. In the afternoon of Feb 6 the salvage of the "Rick" commenced. The sheerleg "Cormorant" lifted the wreck bottom up from the Hoofdplate and moved it to deeper waters. Here an attempt was to be undertaken to dewater the barge and take it to Terneuzen. One helicopter was still searching for one missing crew member. Other ships on scene were the "Hendrik 7", "Karin", "Maeslant", "Multratug 22", "RWS 78" and "VB 4". The "Interballast 1", 2082 gt (IMO: 7382457), which had entered the port of Breskens at 4.40 a.m. left the port again at 5 p.m. Dutch reports with photos and videos: http://www.pzc.nl/regio/zeeuws-nieuws/binnenvaartschip-kapseist-op-westerschelde-nog-%C3%A9%C3%A9n-opvarende-vermist-video-1.4750213 http://nos.nl/artikel/2017618-schip-omgeslagen-op-westerschelde.html http://www.refdag.nl/nieuws/binnenland/opvarende_binnenvaartschip_overleeft_ijskoud_water_westerschelde_1_889273 http://www.nu.nl/binnenland/3987268/opvarenden-vermist-kapseizen-schip-westerschelde.html#slide-1 http://www.omroepzeeland.nl/nieuws/2015-02-06/809054/opvarende-levend-uit-gekapseisd-schip-gehaald#.VNSYK9XRZnU