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Accident report: Weighing anchor in storm caused allision off Rotterdam

The allision between the "Arklow Rambler" and the "Atlantic Jupiter" in the North Sea off the port of Rotterdam on Feb 8, 2016, could have been prevented if the ships had kept a safe distance. This became evident from the report of the Research Council for Safety, published on Feb 28, 2017. The tanker suffered a gash of 15 meters, the "Arklow Rambler" had severe damage to the bow. There were no injuries. Both ships had anchored off the coast because they did not have permission to sail into the port of Rotterdam. The wind blew very hard that night. Because the wind the next day further increased, the captain of the tanker decided to weigh anchor to get enough control over the ship. The captain was not sufficiently aware of the effect of retrieving the anchor, the Safety Board concluded. The ship thus drifted onto the "Arklow Rambler". Despite of the large hole in the hull of the tanker, the ship did not sail directly into the port which was a risk. Dutch reports with photos: http://www.ad.nl/rotterdam/botsing-schepen-door-onvoldoende-afstand~a0811419/ https://onderzoeksraad.nl/nl/onderzoek/2217/aanvaring-in-ankergebied-8-februari-2016 https://onderzoeksraad.nl/nl/onderzoek/2217/aanvaring-in-ankergebied-8-februari-2016