There was a serious collision between a sailing yacht and a tanker in the lock in Brunsbüttel on Saturday evening. The sailor's mast broke off in the collision, injuring the 55-year-old skipper. The injured woman was immediately taken to hospital. The circumstances that led to the accident in the lock of the Kiel Canal (NOK) are still unclear and under investigation.
Course of the accident and recovery
The yacht in question was the Varianta 37 "Elbe Express", a training boat belonging to the Eichler Yacht Schoolbuilt in 2016, which is used for training trips on the Elbe. She was on her way from the Kiel Canal to the Elbe with the instructor and a customer crew. The accident occurred in the Alte Schleuse Süd lock. Yacht school owner Robert Eichler describes the course of the accident: "A 100-merter tanker had moored on the starboard side of the lock, and a carbon racer entered in front of our boat at high speed. Our yacht followed behind and was caught by the tanker's screw water. It struck crossways, the mast hit car tyres hanging as fenders on the tanker's side and broke in the middle."
The skipper was seriously injured. Eichler: "The skipper was sitting aft, where the gear lever and rudder are. The falling parts trapped her. The backstay stretched across her chest and trapped her between the railing and the radar bracket. She fell unconscious."
However, the crew was able to free her relatively quickly and make an emergency call by mobile phone; the skipper had regained consciousness. The skipper was rescued using a fire brigade aerial ladder. "She was then able to walk to the stretcher on her own, which we took as a good sign," says Eichler. She was then flown to hospital by rescue helicopter. The examination revealed a broken fifth rib and the skipper was supposed to be discharged quickly. However, as she also complained of neck pain, she was kept in hospital for observation for the time being.
"She was lucky," says Eichler. "She's a small, wiry woman. Any taller person wouldn't have fitted into the space in between. I don't know what would have happened then."
The lock was closed for three hours until the police had interviewed the witnesses. An investigation was launched. The yacht remained manoeuvrable and is now waiting for a new rig; training trips with her have been suspended until further notice.
Who made a mistake?
It is still unclear how the accident occurred until the investigations have been completed. The skipper was probably too slow when passing the tanker's screw water. Either it was still steaming into the Spring with thrust ahead. In that case, however, the lock should not have been released. But even if the controllable pitch propeller was set to neutral, there are still backwater effects and various treacherous currents in a lock. Or the tanker captain had to give it another push. "The fact is that the lock was open," says Eichler.
Discussion on safety in locks
The incident raises questions about safety in locks, especially when pleasure craft and larger vessels are being locked at the same time. There are apparently different procedures on both sides of the NOK. Eichler: "The people in Kiel don't let any pleasure craft into the lock in addition to large commercial vessels if they know that the propellers have to be used to keep the ship in position, i.e. the classic steaming into the spring. They say we're not taking any risks." The Brunsbüttel team, on the other hand, have a different view: "They assume that these are experienced skippers who should decide for themselves whether they dare to go in or not. When the commercial vessel is moored, they switch to white and the pleasure craft skippers can enter."
Eichler, who has more than 50 years of experience and comes from the commercial shipping industry, takes a critical view of this practice. "I think it's okay for experienced skippers. But for the vast majority of people, a lock situation is stressful." The worst thing is the different experience of the skippers. "If you enter with several boats and someone doesn't dare to sail quickly, you quickly have a mast collision." There are also occasional collisions between rigs and the sides of commercial vessels. "But a saling jib colliding with a ship's side is no big deal. The fact that it happens at such an unfavourable angle as in our case is something special."
Eichler also sees another problem with the behaviour of recreational skippers: "There are always some who don't fill the lock from the back to the front, but moor somewhere in the middle. Then you have to overtake them, even though there is a ban on overtaking in locks."
Lessons learnt from the incident
Eichler is undecided as to which approach is the right one on the part of the lock staff. "In Kiel, you wait longer for the lock because they simply don't let you in with a steamer if it needs the propeller." If this were handled in the same way in Brunsbüttel, there would also be longer waiting times there, which would not be in the interests of the skippers, especially in the high season. "But you could make an announcement over the radio and warn the skippers that a steamer needs the propeller. But again, it's questionable whether everyone will listen."
Eichler recommends: "Pass the stern water area of a commercial vessel as quickly as possible. In theory, you can still get into the water of the bow thruster, but it is unlikely that it will be used."
Is the NOK dangerous?
A comprehensive Guide to the NOK can be found here. Also a Step-by-step instructions We have compiled a list of tips for you on how to lock the locks correctly. Anyone interested in the history of locks will find what they are looking for here.
This knowledge should be part of the basic knowledge of every skipper entering a lock.
