Arklow Falcon Hits Canal Bank After Rudder Failure at Terneuzen
The second loss of control on the Ghent-Terneuzen canal this month, with Rijkswaterstaat now investigating
For the second time this month a cargo vessel navigating the Ghent-Terneuzen canal has veered out of the navigation channel and struck the mud embankment. The Dutch water authority, Rijkswaterstaat, reports no injuries and no serious damage, and is investigating the cause of both incidents.
The Arklow Falcon, a 90-metre general cargo ship registered in Ireland, entered the canal on Thursday evening, August 20, bound for Ghent in Belgium. At around 18:45 local time the 4,972 dwt vessel lost control of its rudder and veered off course near Terneuzen. It ended up with its bow driven onto the embankment and its hull at an angle to the shipping lane. It is not clear whether the ship was laden or at what speed it was travelling.
The authorities were notified and at around 19:15 dispatched a tug from Multraship together with a Rijkswaterstaat patrol boat. Roughly an hour later the vessel was able to back off the embankment under its own power. The tug assisted in repositioning it and escorted it to an anchorage for further inspection.
The earlier incident was more costly. On August 7 the DFDS cargo roro Primula Seaways, of 14,000 dwt, was arriving from Gothenburg when it also lost control near Terneuzen. The 200-metre vessel drove its bow into the embankment and stayed there while spectators gathered, taking tugs three hours to pull it free. There were reports of damage to the bow of the vessel and to the rock armour and earthworks at the side of the canal.
Two losses of control in a fortnight on the same stretch of a busy seagoing ship canal is the reason the water authority is looking at the incidents together rather than separately. The canal is the access route for the port of Ghent, and a vessel stranded across the channel closes it for everyone behind.
