Sandnes

Divers investigated the bottom of the "Sandnes" at berth 9.4 in Cuxhaven on Feb 29 regarding possible damages suffered in the grounding off the Este estuary on Feb 28, and the ship was surveyed by inspectors. According to first investgations communication trouble between the pilot and the master may have contributed to the accident which left the bulkcarrier high and dry for some hours on the Elbe. At 5 p.m. the ship was released and left the port bound for Jelsa to load a cargo of gravel there, ETA Mar 2. German report with photo: http://www.cn-online.de/stadt-land/news/sandnes-kapitaen-versteht-lotsen-nicht.html

In the morning of Feb 28 the Antigua Barbuda-flagged self discharger "Sandnes", 17357 gt (IMO: 9306029), ran aground on the Elbe at the Mühlenberg Hole. The unloaded ship had just left the Sietas Yard in Hamburg-Neuenfelde after a routine maintenance and was about to enter the fairway of the Elbe bound to Norway for loading operations, but got stuck at 7.40 a.m. after heaving passed the Este estuary and sailing through the narrow of the Mühlenberg Hole, according to first investigations possibly due to a navigation mistake. During the low tide, when the ship was high and dry off Blankenense, salvors started their preparations, and at 7.45 p.m. the five tugs "Bugsier 7", "Bugsier 19", "Zyklon", "Taifun" and "Löwe" pulled the ship off the mud bar. It berthed in Cuxhaven at midnight. German reports with photos and video: http://www.welt.de/regionales/hamburg/article152731893/Auf-Grund-gelaufener-Frachter-wieder-frei.html http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/hamburg-schlepper-ziehen-frachter-sandnes-frei-a-1079791.html http://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/panorama/id_77110566/hamburg-frachter-sandnes-ist-vor-dem-hafen-auf-grund-gelaufen.html http://www.m.hamburg1.de/nachrichten/27741/Wieder_steckt_ein_Containerschiff_fest.html https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/hamburg/Frachter-in-der-Elbe-ist-wieder-frei,frachter398.html http://www.abendblatt.de/hamburg/altona/article207101487/Die-Havarie-der-Sandnes-vor-Blankenese.html http://www.mopo.de/hamburg/schon-wieder--frachter-riese-laeuft-in-der-elbe-auf-grund-23635500

The "Sandnes" got stuck on a sandbar in Esbjerg port 20 minutes after highest tide in harbour basin 6. The ship which carried 20000 tons gravel was refloated by a Svitzer tug.