The master of the 'Rapida', which had severely damaged the railway bridge over the Hunte River near Elsfleth on the night of Feb 24, 2024, must pay a fine of €5,000. This was decided by the court in Brake.The decision can still be appealed. After the allision, a temporary bridge was hoisted over the Hunte River near Brake, which was also struck shortly afterwards. The total damage from the allision amounted to approximately €10 million. A non-movable temporary bridge is still in place, limiting access to the port of Oldenburg. The judge primarily blamed the skipper for the fact that there was no helmsman on board. He was sailing with two sailors. The defective lighting on a level indicator sign was cited as a mitigating factor. However, the judge found that the skipper should have known the sign was there and should have used a flashlight to look at it. The defendant had not done everything possible to prevent the allision. The prosecutor even argued that the undermanned vessel had no certificate for sailing on the Hunte at night. The skipper had been under time pressure because he had to load on the Weser the next morning. He allegedly approached the bridge at a speed of 16 kilometers per hour, while the speed limit there was 10 kilometers per hour. The skipper's lawyer pleaded for acquittal. He believed that the main cause of the allision was not the understaffing, but rather the weathered and unlit gauge sign. He pointed out that there had been previous collisions with the bridge due to a lack of clarity about the clearance height. A few months after a temporary bridge was constructed, it too was struck by a German tanker. Because the damage could have been repaired relatively easily at that time, the tanker was fined €1,500. The water and sghipping authority has since replaced the gauge sign and illuminated it. The temporary bridge is also illuminated at night.
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ISLE OF LEWIS
The 'Isle of Lewis', serving on the route Oban-Castlebay, suffered a technical issue with the ramp on Aug 15 and a potential fouled propeller. Both problems required further inspections, and the departure from Castlebay was at 05:30 a.m. and the arrival at Oban at 10:15 a.m. as a consequence.
MALY
A fire broke out aboard the 'Maly' and a 24-ton-vessel, which was moored alongside at the port of Sinbuk in the city of Yeosu on Aug 16, 2025. The 'Maly' was loaded with 2,500 tons of a hazardous chemicals categorized as C5 along with 100 tons of fuel oil when the fire broke out. The blaze quickly spread to the smaller cargo vessel. The Coast Guard mobilized 15 vessels and one fireboat to fight the fire after being notified by a nearby vessel at 1:04 a.m. The Coast Guard was able to extinguish the blaze on the cargo vessel within a few hours, but it took six hours before the fire could be extinguished on the tanker.All 14 crew members from the 'Maly' and four crewmembers from the cargo vessel were rescued, but the captain of the cargo vessel was recovered in an unconscious state and later declared dead. Among the crew members on the tanker, on Myanmar national in his 30s suffered serious injuries, and a Myanmar national in his 20s suffered minor injuries. The fire aboard the cargo vessel was extinguished at 3:17 a.m., the fire on the tanker by 7:45 a.m. It was unclear if the chemicals leaked out due to the fire. The cause of the incident was not yet known. An investigation has been launched. Report with photos and video: https://jeonmae.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=1175908 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln9OvbhbVdk&t=3s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v0WpkEVtyA
LOCH RANZA
The 'Loch Ranza', serving on the route Tayinloan-Gigha, required essential works to be carried out to the rescue boat on Aug 15. As a consequence, the following sailings had to be cancelled: Departure Tayinloan - 10:00 a.m. Departure Gigha - 10:30 a.m. The service was expected to resume at 11:00 a.m. from Tayinloan Already on Aug 13, repairs to the 'Loch Ranza’s bilge system were required, and the service was suspended. A passenger charter continued to operate. Engineers were on their way to the vessel to carry out repairs at its berth in Tayinloan. The.repairs have been completed on Aug 13, and the will resumed service with the 2:00 p.m. sailing from Tayinloan.
ISLE OF MULL
On Agu 14, the 'Isle of Mull', serving on the route Oban-Craignure, suffered a technical issue that required further investigations. As a consequence, the scheduled 07:25 a.m. sailing from Obanwas delayed by approximately 30 minutes.