The 18,982 TEU capacity ultra large container vessel CSCL INDIAN OCEAN remains stranded on a mud bank, near Grunendeich, on the river Elbe. The Haveriekommando, Germany's Central Command for Maritime Emergencies, has now taken control of the rescue effort.

CSCL INDIAN OCEAN had been sailing to Hamburg from Felixstowe with around 10,000 TEU on board, having already discharged Asian imports in Rotterdam. The vessel ran aground at 22.00h local time on Wednesday night, 3rd February, fortunately (from the point of view of Elbe navigation) in a wide part of the fairway around 19 n/m from the port of Hamburg.

The vessel was drawing 11.5m of water and was thus well within the draught limitations of the river Elbe. According to the authorities, the incident occurred as a result of the vessel losing complete power and steering and hitting a mud bank as a consequence. It is understood that the ship has sustained no underwater damage, that there have been no oil leakages and no injuries sustained by the crew.

Already some 2000t of HFO has been pumped out of the vessel and it is planned to pump out 700t of MGO as well. Dredgers have started to remove mud and sand from underneath the hull to make her more manoeuvrable. During the weekend heavy winds moved her even closer to the shore, but this has not affected incoming or outgoing traffic in the fairway.

Haveriekommand is considering offloading containers midstream to lighten the ship further. To do this, floating cranes with a lifting height of 60m-70m would be needed and they would have to come from Rotterdam. Alternatively, crane ships serving the offshore energy industry might be deployed, according to availability and cost.

China Shipping has appointed Smit in Rotterdam to take care of any salvage operations. However, assuming the vessel can be freed she will be towed to the Eurogate terminal in Hamburg for offloading and "running repairs." After that, the nearest dry dock that can take her is in St Nazaire on France's Atlantic coast.

The green party and environmental groups are using the incident to voice their continuing opposition to dredging and widening the Elbe river. Lower Saxony’s minister for trade and transport Olaf Lies has urged the Hamburg government to give up its Elbe river improvement plans and join JadeWeserPort [Wilhelmshaven] as partners.

CSCL INDIAN OCEAN is among the largest containerships in the world, having a dwt in excess of 155,000 tonnes, length of 400m and beam of 59m. The ship is deployed in a mainly China-Europe string of the O3 Alliance and works alongside vessels also provided by UASC. CMA CGM is the third member of the group.