Coxswain allegedly destroyed Rhine lock while drunk
At the wheel of a freighter, she is said to have caused millions in damage: The helmswoman of the ship that rammed and destroyed the gate of a lock on the Upper Rhine near Iffezheim (district of Rastatt) last Saturday is said to have been drunk. She is being investigated for endangering shipping traffic, the water police announced on Friday. The woman was not the captain of the motor cargo vessel. However, she was at the helm as co-pilot at the time of the accident, said a spokesperson.
The cargo ship had run head-on into the closed lock gate on the Rhine on its way from Basel to Karlsruhe last Saturday afternoon. The route was dead straight, the spokesman said. "A lock employee could see the ship coming for minutes."
Repairs could take up to a year
Due to the force of the impact, it had broken through the lock gate with its bow and got stuck. At that moment, another ship was in the lock. No one was injured. The ship was also practically undamaged, according to the spokesperson. As a result of the accident, the Rhine lock can only be navigated via one of the two lock chambers, which can lead to waiting times for shipping traffic.
The water police estimate the damage at around one and a half million euros. The repair work could take up to a year because the heavy lock gate has to be specially made. "Nobody has anything like that in stock."
A cargo ship ramming a lock without braking is also unusual for the water police, said the spokesperson. "None of our colleagues knew of another case like this."
The investigators did not want to say how drunk the helmswoman was or how old she was. "It would probably have been different after a glass of beer. She was already properly intoxicated."
The incident has led to increased concerns about traffic safety in shipping, with some calling for stricter regulations to prevent accidents caused by intoxicated crew members. Additionally, the disruption to shipping traffic due to the damaged lock has highlighted the potential impact of such accidents on commerce and transportation, particularly in areas with heavy shipping traffic like the Upper Rhine.
Source: www.dpa.com
