Interview: Collision in Korsør – “There was a huge red hull right in front of me”
Antonia von Lamezan
· 30.06.2026
YACHT: How are you feeling after this shock?
Kirsten Kaack: We’ve come to terms with it a bit now. We’ve been through the whole emotional rollercoaster – from grief to anger to mistrust. We’ve felt it all. Now that the boat is at the shipyard in Großenbrode and everything has been discussed, things are gradually returning to normal.
Can the boat be saved? Judging by the photos, one would suspect structural damage.
Detlef Kaack: I saw it going under right then and there. ‘That’s it then,’ I thought. Everything we had on the boat would have been lost. Strangely enough, though, it was still afloat, even though the ship had actually rammed right into its stern at one point. You can see it in the footage shot by a TV reporter who happened to be there: the ship’s stern is resting on our stern and pushing in the port-side steering wheel.
I went on board once the big ship had sailed away. Of the four mooring lines, only one was still attached; three had snapped. The first thing I did was check for water ingress. The bilge pump looked fine. Then I gathered up some files and took them off the boat, just in case it did end up sinking after all.
The police arrived, inspected the boat and were under the impression that it was afloat and had no damage to the hull. The following day, the mast was removed using a mobile crane and the boat was hauled out of the water. The insurance surveyor inspected the hull – and it appears that the hull has no damage.
What damage has been caused?
Detlef Kaack: Fortunately, it wasn’t crushed, because the ship pressed down on it at an angle from above. The boat then slid and crashed into the quay wall. The plastic coaming strips are destroyed, and the aluminium coaming edge is bent on the port side. But with a bit of luck, that’s all there is to it. So far, we haven’t found any cracks or structural damage to the hull.
The main jib winch on the port side – a very large piece of kit – has stopped turning. It’s bent on the inside. It must have been subjected to a huge amount of force. We reckon that with various repairs to the deck area and the coaming, we’ll be able to get everything back in working order. A steering gear needs replacing, as the steering wheel is…
But as for the hull itself, credit must be given to Elan – a company which, sadly, no longer builds boats. They built it well.
How did the collision happen?
Detlef Kaack: We were sitting down to dinner and had just finished. My wife said, “There’s a loud noise outside – why don’t you have a look out?” I stood at the cabin window – and right in front of me was a huge red hull. Red, because the underwater section of the ship was red and completely empty. The superstructure above was blue. At first, all we could see was red.
The ship was about 30 metres away and 104 metres long. I went up to the cockpit and saw that it was moving backwards at full speed. The propeller was churning up a lot of water. Reversing meant he was heading towards the quay – and it wasn’t far away anymore. As he continued to reverse, it was clear to me that a collision was inevitable. He hadn’t got the ship under control.
At the same time, the stern turned to starboard, i.e. towards us. So I said to my wife: “Let’s get ashore quickly – who knows what’s about to happen.”
One assumes, of course, that professional skippers know what they’re doing. We’ve had experience with Dutch tall ships that have moored with their jib boom over our boat. That was perfectly safe because they know exactly what they’re doing. However, when the ship’s rudder then touched the quay, it was clear to me: no, he doesn’t know what he’s doing.
He smashed a granite bollard and three lamps. At that point, we had about a minute left. We were moored to the quay with four mooring lines. I couldn’t untie them that quickly.
Kirsten Kaack: Apart from the loud engine noise, we weren’t warned. We were below deck and had no idea what was happening. Then the ship was right next to us. I think it would have been extremely dangerous if we’d tried to cast off. If the mooring lines snap and fly off in your face, you could seriously injure yourself.
Detlef Kaack: That’s right. If he’d just blown his horn five minutes earlier, we’d have cut the lines and made a run for it. Or if someone’d shouted: “Watch out, we’ve got a problem!” – in whatever language, you’d understand that. But there were two or three people standing on the aft deck, watching quite calmly and waving us away. As if to say: ‘Everything’s under control up here.’
In this instance, I consider it negligent not to issue a warning in such a situation. This is an offence which I interpret as an attack on life and limb.
You were filming during those few seconds. How did you come up with the idea?
Detlef Kaack: I realised I needed evidence. I knew something was going wrong. I also knew that my wife had jumped ashore. And it was equally clear to me that there was nothing more I could do at that moment. I had my mobile with me and thought: ‘Now it’s getting serious; I need evidence. If anything happens, it needs to be documented.’
It later transpired that others had also filmed the incident, for example a TV2 Ost reporter who happened to be there with her toddler. But I couldn’t have known that at the time. So my thought was: “There’s nothing I can do anyway, so I need to secure the evidence.”
The crew then threw a distress buoy into the water – far too late.
Detlef Kaack: Yes, they’ve deployed a distress buoy that emits orange smoke and flashes two white lights. Normally, you’d throw a device like that overboard if someone’s in the water, so that you can find them again.
The crew had the distress buoy hanging from a five-metre-long rope and were swinging it back and forth like a censer. When the cord became tangled in our stays, they dropped it. It then lay next to our boat. That filled the whole area with smoke and certainly isn’t healthy. Our boat is still orange on one side to this day. A completely senseless act.
They stayed on board overnight. What was that like?
Detlef Kaack: It was a nightmare. The swell in the harbour basin was getting stronger and stronger – at least a quarter of a metre high. This basin is surrounded on all sides by sheet piling, so the waves are reflected everywhere. The boat was pitching with a list of at least ten degrees to port and starboard. With every pitch, the bent mast swung from left to right. We were afraid the mast might snap off – it weighs about 300 kilos.
The next morning, I was afraid we might lose the boat altogether. With the high swell, we could barely keep it secure against the metal sheet pile wall. With the help of the other party’s insurance agent, who was handling the lines, and using our own engine, we managed to back up a few hundred metres and position ourselves behind an ocean-going tug.
Was the rudder still working?
Yes, I used my own strength to straighten the wheel just enough so that it would turn. The boat wasn’t affected. However, the mast was leaning to port and the jib, along with the forestay, was in the water. You can’t really sail like that, but I managed to cover a hundred metres.
What will happen to you if you watch the video today?
Kirsten Kaack: To be honest, I don’t really like watching it. It just brings back bad memories. On the first night in particular, that exact scene kept flashing before my eyes. To analyse the situation, we took a closer look at some of the shorter sections again. Where exactly does the stern touch down? How is the sail positioned there? That provides a great deal of insight.
Detlef Kaack: I kept trying to work out what was happening. Most of the time, he was reversing at full throttle. He’s already hooked onto the quay, but he’s still reversing. Then he must have driven forwards and knocked our mast down. After that, he went full reverse again to brake, because our backstay had become snagged on top of his boat. Otherwise, he would have driven off with our boat in tow.
Then they set off and sailed under the bridge. I think they even collided with something over at the quay. Then they sailed through the open bascule bridge and moored on the other side, where they were heading.
After passing us, he had to make a left-hand turn to get under the bridge. If you want to make a port-side turn, you swing the stern to starboard. He didn’t take that into account. It was also said that he was travelling very fast – faster than the speed limit. At one point, we saw six knots on the AIS, right in the middle of the harbour, where the speed limit is only five knots. As far as I can tell, he veered far too far to starboard and failed to make the turn.
What effect does an experience like that have on the mind?
Kirsten Kaack: Now, whenever I’m below deck and hear a loud engine, that memory comes flooding back. The following night, a motorboat stupidly cruised past us, and I panicked. But I think my confidence is coming back.
Detlef Kaack: From a purely nautical point of view, it hasn’t changed my attitude to sailing. Except that I now expect even large ships to carry out daft manoeuvres. I wouldn’t have thought that before. I always used to think: “They’re so well trained that they know what they’re doing.” Now I know: “That’s not the case. So you’ve got to be as careful as a motorcyclist in traffic.”0
Have you considered making a total loss claim?
We’ve thought about that. The question is whether it makes sense. Firstly, we like the boat. You hardly ever see this type of yacht here in Northern Europe. In nearly 13 years as owners, we’ve only come across one other Elan 45. The rest are all moored in Greece and Croatia. As the boat is now 22 or 23 years old, this model is no longer available from charter companies either.
We’ve discussed several times whether we should give the whole thing up. “It’s broken now anyway” would have been one argument; another: “Do I even want to do this anymore?” Sailing is always a bit risky. But scrapping the boat was always out of the question for me – unless the hull had really been destroyed. Our yacht is basically in perfect working order. The two of us sail it everywhere. It’s in very good condition and is equipped with a jib, genoa and gennaker – features that other boats don’t have. For that reason, it didn’t make sense to us to scrap the boat and use whatever funds we had to look for something new.
What can we learn from an incident like this?
Detlef Kaack: There’s nothing to be learnt from this incident. Except: keep your eyes open and be prepared for anything.
What happens next?
Detlef Kaack: We hope that the insurance companies will acknowledge the damage and pay out. The question of liability has been settled, but with incidents involving ships like this, you never know how compensation payments will pan out internationally. Fortunately, our yacht insurance provider has already indicated that they are liable under the terms of our policies and will recover the money. We do not yet know whether this will cover the full cost of the damage. That is currently being sorted out.
We won’t be heading into Korsør again any time soon, as the harbour has too much swell. But my confidence in this boat has grown. The things this thing can withstand! We’ve already sailed in force-eight winds and crossed the Baltic Sea in three-metre waves. It proved to be very safe. The hull has now shown that it can handle it all. I really must say: it’s a shame that Elan doesn’t build boats any more.
The interview was conducted by Timm Kruse.
You might also be interested in:
Kirsten and Detlef Kaack on the YACHT podcast
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