A ship ran aground on the Rhine near Bacharach on Wednesday. The motor tanker was loaded with 3,000 tons of diesel, but this did not leak, said a spokesman for the water police in Mainz. According to the information, no one was injured. Since the ship’s stern protruded into the channel, the section of the Rhine was closed to shipping from the morning onwards.
The first three attempts to tow the ship free were unsuccessful, the police announced on Wednesday afternoon. On Thursday morning, the SWR reported that a lighter ship required for the rescue had arrived at the scene of the accident and that work had now begun to pump part of the 3,000 tons of diesel onto the lighter ship. This is intended to free the tanker. The campaign “got off to a good start this morning,” says Florian Krekel, spokesman for the Rhine Waterways and Shipping Authority, as reported by SWR.
The Rhine remained closed on the section from Bingen to Kaub. Only when the motor tanker is able to maneuver again will shipping on the Rhine be permitted again. The police are investigating the cause of the accident and trying to find out whether there was a driving error or a technical defect that caused the accident.
Sources: DPA, SWR
