Two ships adrift in wind farm, rescue is difficult

A cargo ship and a tanker ship ran into problems off the coast of Zeebrugge around 4 pm on Friday afternoon. The cargo ship Diamond Sky with sixteen people on board is now on its way to the Netherlands under its own power. The captain of the ship managed to sail through two wind farms in Belgian and Dutch waters, without causing damage. The ship is now in Dutch waters and is being escorted by a tugboat.

Tanker ship situation

The tanker vessel Maersk Nimbus, with a crew of eighteen people and with more than 31,000 tons of combustible and refined product on board, is currently still at anchor off the coast of Zeebrugge. The ship sails under the Danish flag and was en route from Algeria to Antwerp.

The tanker ship is anchored near a windmill. “It itself has too little power to safely sail away from the windmills in these severe weather conditions. It is safer to keep the crew on board than to evacuate them,” Acting Governor Anne Martens said. The crew would be safe.

Unsafe situation

A Dutch tugboat left for the tanker last night, but this night the sea conditions were still too dangerous to hook itself to the tanker. “We continue to make efforts, coordination continues.”

The intention is for the tanker to be accompanied by the tugboat at the turn of the tide and then, in better weather conditions, to move to an anchorage or continue its waterway.