News

On the late evening of June 4, one of the two grounded ships off Sweden, the 'Ali Aykin' (IMO: 9166510), was refloated and berthed in Malmö on June 5 shortly after midnight. The ship reached the port with own power, assisted by tugs and monitored by ships from the Swedish Coast Guard. The transit to the port took two hours in good conditions No oil spills were observed neither during the salvage nor during the way to Malmö. The successful salvage was the result of the close and intensive cooperation between several authorities and private actors. The environmental threat in the Sound has been eliminated with joint efforts. The preliminary investigation into gross negligence in maritime traffic is being led by prosecutors and is still ongoing. One person on the crew has been served with a suspicion and is being detained. The work to prevent oil spills from the other grounded ship, the 'Meshka', was continued off Landskrona. The situation there was desciribed as complex but under control, and measures were being taken to minimize the risk of environmental impact by the Coast Guard. The 'Meshka' has approximately 938 metric tons of oil in fuel and lubricating oil in its tanks. The authority has vessels on site with the ability to combat oil spills. The patrol boat 'KBV 497' (MMSI: 266286001) was monitoring the grounded ship on June 5. Reports with photos: https://www.kustbevakningen.se/nyheter/fartyg-pa-grund-soder-om-oresund/ https://www.sverigesradio.se/artikel/kustbevakningen-om-grundstotta-fartygen-oresund-ar-riskomrade https://www.landskronadirekt.com/2025/06/04/sa-ska-meshka-komma-loss-fran-grundet/

The "Iberica Knutsen," which had run aground off Rügen on May 22, has arrived in the port of Mukran on May 24. From its anchorage off Rügen, the ship made the journey to its destination under its own power and with the assistance of tugs.;So far, no damage to the LNG-tanker has been reported. However, the Federal Bureau of Maritime Accident Investigation has not yet completed its analysis. The reason why the ship ran aground off Sassnitz was also still under investigation. As part of the investigation, an investigation has been initiated against the ship's captain. According to current investigations, there was no environmental damage. Report with photo: https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/mecklenburg-vorpommern/Auf-Grund-gelaufener-LNG-Tanker-nach-Mukran-geschleppt,ibericaknutsen100.html

The Public Prosecution Service in Termini Imerese is conducting a legal investigation into two Dutch nationals for the death of the Dutch diver Rob Cornelis Huijben, who died on May 9 during the salvage operations of the yacht. The two suspected Dutch nationals are the person responsible for occupational safety and the operational manager of the Dutch salvage company Smit Salvage (a subsidiary of Boskalis), for which the diver worked. An investigation was previously opened by the lawyer of the Dutch shipping company. The Public Prosecutor of Termini Imerese suspected the two Dutch nationals of manslaughter and violation of the provisions on occupational safety. Smit Salvage allegedly did not meet the requirements to carry out the underwater operations that were fatal for the diver. A failure to comply with the safety measures probably played a major role in the accident. Moreover, according to the legal investigation, the employees would not have the required training. The diver was also not registered in the register of the Sicilian region, as required by the law on occupational safety. This registration checks the technical skills of divers. It also offers protection for companies and institutions involved in underwater activities. the 39-year-old diver died from the explosion of a hydrogen bag that occurred while cutting the zipper that connects the boom of the sailing ship to the 72-meter-long mast. The hydrogen was probably ignited by the acetylene-oxygen flame that was used to make the cut. Rescuers from the floating cranes 'Hebo Lift 2' and 'Hebo Lift 10' tried to save him without success.

After the allision of the 'IJsseldelta' with the bridge over the Dortmund-Ems Canal at the EmslandArena , the bridge has been closed since then. Current recommendations for a detour directed car traffic south of the accident site past the EmslandArena, The alternative route was via the bypass, i.e., the B70 and B213. According to current information, the Waterways and Shipping Authority (Wissenschaftsamt) indicated that the bridge was not in danger of collapsing. However, the extent to which repairs or replacement measures were necessary and possible, and how long the bridge will have to remain closed to traffic, were still unclear. In the afternoon, WSA employees inspected the bridge using a cherry picker. To better assess the extent of the repairs, they brought in a structural engineer. It was dound out that the crossbeam was more severely affected than I initially thought, being not only bent, but also warped. Repairing it will be quite difficult. The initial inspection on May 4 had revealed that a longitudinal girder of the bridge had been damaged. This now needs to be replaced. However, exactly how this will be done is still unclear. A temporary structure could be built or a section of the girder burnt out and replaced. The bridge will remain closed to traffic until further notice. The repairs could take several months. Whether the bridge can be reopened, at least for pedestrians and cyclists, depends on the specific renovation plans. The canal was reopened to shipping on the evening of June 4. The 'IJsseldelta' remained stationary in Holthausen as of June 6. Reports with photos and video: https://emstv.de/videobeitrag/jw1-nach-bruckenunfall-hier-werden-sie-umgeleitet/ https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/niedersachsen/osnabrueck_emsland/Nach-Schiff-Unfall-Bruecke-wohl-fuer-Monate-gesperrt,schiffsunfall200.html

Ther "Iberica Knutsen" has left Rügen and set course for Skævinge on June 5 with an ETA as of June 6. The ship had run aground near the port entrance on May 22 on its way to the Mukran liquefied natural gas terminal. After about an hour, the "Iberica Knudsen" was pulled free with the help of tugs and brought to an anchorage off Sassnitz. The "tanker was then able to unload its cargo at the FSRU terminal in Mukran. The ship subsequently underwent a comprehensive inspection. The Federal Bureau of Maritime Casualty Investigation (BSU) is currently conducting an investigation into the incident.