Amadeus-Amethist

On April 28, 2019, at 12:30 a.m. the "Amadeus Amethyst" , enroute from Szczecin to Goole, suffered a rudder failure during the westbound transit of the Kiel Canal near Dükerswisch. The ship stopped in the switch and was forbidden to proceed until assistance had arrived. The tugs "Luchs" and "Arion" were deployed to pull the ship to Brunsbüttel for investigations and surveys. The cargo vessel was moored in Brunsbüttel at 6.30 a.m. and left the railway station pilings at the South Quay again he same day at 7.45 p.m. and continued the voyage to Goole with an ETA as of April 30.

On June 10 the "Amadeus Amethist" was towed from Groningen towards the Niestern Sander in Delfzijl for repairs of the destroyed wheelhouse. The ship was pulled by the Dutch tug "Waterpoort" (IMO: 9223435) and pushed by the "Njord". Photos: http://www.kustvaartforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=7&start=220#p421078

The allision of the "Amadeus Amethist" seems to have been caused by a technical malfunction. The ship had already passed some bridges on the Albert Canal safely. When approaching the bridge at Merksem, the crew lowered down the wheelhouse again, but this time the hydraulic system of the wheelhouse did not work properly. The crew tried to reverese the ship but could not prevent the wheelhouse from hitting the bridge. Both crew members who were present in the wheelhouse,could leave it after the allision on their own. One of them was injured but quickly cared for in hospital. After the allision, the crew has pumped additional ballast water in the tanks so that the vessel was released. With their own ropes and winches they shifted the shipt to a dock near the bridge where further surveys and investigations could be conducted regarding the extent of the damage and the exact cause of the incident. The traffic on the Albert Canal and on the bridge has been temporarily shut down, but could be released within hours.