- A pontoon with a crane has sunk on the Elbe.
The ponton that sank in the Hamburg harbor on Monday evening is scheduled to be lifted this week. "According to current plans, the salvage is scheduled for Wednesday morning," said a spokesperson for the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), which is now responsible for the floating platform. The reason why the approximately 40 by 5-meter ponton, complete with crane, hut, and equipment, sank in the Billwerder Bucht remained unclear initially. "After the salvage, we will investigate why the ponton sank," the spokesperson said.
On Monday evening, the fire department was called to the harbor due to the ponton. When they arrived, the platform was already submerged in the Elbe. Only the corrugated iron roof and the top of the side walls were still visible above the water. The fire department laid out white and orange oil booms - floating oil barriers - on the water to prevent the spread of pollutants. These were from the submerged excavator. According to HPA and the environmental authority, only small amounts leaked. Experts from the environmental authority were also on site to assess and contain the damage.
The ponton, which sank in a former shipyard, was previously used to secure ships in need of repair and also served as a landing stage, according to the HPA spokesperson.
In the chaos of the sinking, the emergency services were swiftly alerted. During their assessment, they noticed that the submerged excavator could potentially release hazardous substances into the Elbe.
