MV Siderfly Removed from Germany’s Kiel Canal – UPDATE

One of two holes that took down the MV Siderfly in Germany’s Kiel Canal. Image courtesy CCME

Update for Thursday, November 7, 2013:

The MV Siderfly remains moored near Brunsbüttel within the Kiel Canal, according to AIS data.

A statement by US-based T&T Salvage, which headed the salvaged operation, said that the vessel was safely towed Wednesday to the South Quay at Brunsbüttel for inspection and temporary repairs. T&T Salvage added that following the incident, the company quickly mobilized personnel from Germany and Holland to the site and teamed up with local contractors, Bugsier Reederei and Schramm Group.

The statement also revealed that the vessel was carrying approximately 3,700 metric tons of urea, an animal by-product used in some kinds of fertilizer, when it collided with the Coral Ivory LPG carrier October 28, causing a breach to the port sideshell plating resulting in water ingress and a 22 degree list to port.

Meanwhile, Germany’s Central Command for Maritime Emergencies says it has completed its commitment to the incident after eleven days and has turned over command to the Water and Shipping Authority Brunsbüttel.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013:

The stricken MV Siderfly has been removed from an embankment in Germany’s Kiel Canal more than one week after a collision left the vessel grounded and heavily listing in the canal.

Germany’s Central Command for Maritime Emergencies says that two tugs on Wednesday towed the vessel to the nearby port of Brunsbüttel where the vessel moored at approximately 5:45 p.m. local time. The Siderfly, which was carrying a cargo of fertilizer when it collided with a gas carrier October 28, was refloated Monday after lightering operations proved successful.

FULL COVERAGE: Ship Collision Closes Germany’s Kiel Canal

The 4,380 DWT general MV Siderfly was outbound on the Kiel Canal on Monday, October 28 when it collided with the Dutch-flagged Coral Ivory, carrying [urea], which had just maneuvered into the channel from a docking area a few miles from the canal locks at Brunsbüttel.

The collision tore two large holes into the port side of the Siderfly, causing the ingress of water and a release of diesel fuel into the canal. The Coral Ivory did not sustain any damage in the collision and was brought to the port of Brunsbüttel for inspection.

The canal was closed for three days as crews worked to secure the Siderfy using bulldozers which were attached to the the ship by cables. By Friday crews had removed 450 tons of the fertilizer-water mixture onto four barges. The canal only partially repoened last Thursday to vessels less than 140 meters in length and 17 meters in width.

No injuries were sustained by the combined 28 crewmembers of both vessels.

The CCME says that the vessel was still listing 6° to port when the tugs EUROPE and HANS towed the ship to a harbor in Brunsbüttel Wednesday evening.

The Kiel Canal is the world’s busiest artificial waterway and runs for almost 61 miles, linking the North Sea, by way of the Elbe River at Brunsbüttel, to the Baltic Sea at Kiel-Holtenau. In 2012, a total of 34,879 ships transited the canal according to the canal’s website.

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