Monday, October 20, 2014

Hapag-Lloyd ship snaps mooring in Sydney storm, hits two other ships

Expert maneuvers by tug boat operators and ship pilots avoided major damage to Sydney's commercial port on Tuesday night, after the super storm that hit the city snapped the mooring lines of a container ship, causing it to collide with another ship and shear the mooring lines of a third.

Hapag-Lloyd’s Kiel Express broke free from its mooring in Port Botany in Sydney, as category 2 cyclonic strength struck just before 9.30 p.m. Tuesday, causing a trail of destruction.

The 67,000-ton container ship cut the mooring of the OOCL Hong Kong, setting it free. The stern of the Kiel Express then crashed into a stationary Safmarine ship, the Makutu. The Kiel Express then swung around to collide side by side.

"I've been in the maritime industry for close to 30 years and I've never seen anything like this," Jason Sellars, a chief engineer on one of six tug boats called out for the emergency, said. The operation lasted some nine hours.

For more of the Sydney Herald story: www.smh.com.au



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