Z19-Brigitte

The container ship 'OOCL St. Lawrence' (IMO: 9290414) was in collision with the ‘Brigitte-Z 19’ on the evening of Jan 31, 2025, which had just turned at the end of the fishing line, off Nieuwpoort (Lat. 51.3680 Lng. 2.5994). The container ship was en route to Antwerp at a speed of 20 knots. How exactly the collision could have happened, was being investigated. Both ships had turned towards each other. The watchman of the cutter raised the alarm, gave hard starboard rudder, after which the container ship grazed the trawler on the port side. The fishing vessel listed heavily, and the port side boom was bent against the aft mast. The foreship suffered a large dent at port side. At the height of the fish hold, frames were dented. When Thysebaerdt declared that everything was safe on board, the ‘OOCL St. Lawrence’ continued to the port of destination, where it arrived on Feb 1. A few hours later the trawler also headed to port. French inspectors came along on the way near Boulogne-sur-Mer to inspect it for any oil leaks. On the afternoon of Feb 1, the ship entered the port of Ostend, where it was immediately unloaded. The Bema – the builder of the ship in 2020/2021 – was commissioned by owner Thysebaerdt to make the cutter ready for fishing again as soon as possible. Pending approval by the Maritime Inspectorate, the hull damage will be repaired later. The 'Brigitte' remained stationary in port as of Feb 10.