Coastal Cargo Ship Collides with Sailboat off Germany

German sea rescue teams responded to a collision in the North Sea in which a coastal cargo ship and a small sailboat collided in the busy area of the Outer Elbe. The solo sailor aboard the sailboat was visibly shaken but the German authorities reported no one was seriously injured aboard the cargo ship or the sailboat.

The 292-foot coaster named Lotta (3,850 dwt) was sailing from Rouen, France to Klaipeda, Lithuania. The vessel which was built in 2013 and is registered in Cyprus is managed from Lithuania. 

The cargo ship and the sailboat were approximately five nautical miles west-northwest of the uninhabited island of Scharhorn in the North Sea near the entrance to the Elbe. At around 0640 on October 3, the German authorities received a report of the collision and the German Sea Rescue Association (DGzRS) was activated dispatching two rescue vessels.

They are reporting that the sea swell was running about one meter (three feet) and the winds were force 5 on the Beaufort scale (approximately 20 knots). The cargo ship had come in contact with a 9.5-meter sailboat (31-foot) in the busy area of the Outer Elbe.

The Lotta stood by the damaged sailboat. According to the sea rescue team, the sailboat had a large hole in its port side just above the waterline and its mast broke. The sail was hanging in the water when they reached the boat and was preventing more water from entering the sailboat. 

A member of the rescue team went aboard the sailboat to assess the condition of its solo sailor and a tow line was attached to one of the smaller boats from the rescue ships. They towed the sailboat into Cuxhaven where it arrived at 1220.

There was no word on what caused the collision. The cargo ship was undamaged during the incident. She is back underway due to arrive in Lithuania on October 5.