Three ship accidents occur over two days in Germany’s Kiel Canal

Three maritime incidents, with two involving the same vessel, occurred in the Kiel Canal in Germany over two consecutive days.

The first two incidents occurred on Wednesday, February 5, when the Portuguese-flagged general cargo vessel Sommen (pictured) ran aground twice while transiting the canal.

The ship first ran aground near Oldenbüttel at around 02:08 local time on Wednesday after it experienced an electrical fault, which then caused it to veer off course and come to rest on the canal's southern bank. The crew successfully resolved the issue, and the ship resumed sailing shortly afterwards.

Sommen suffered engine failure as it was nearing Rendsburg around four hours later at 06:05, causing it to run aground on the southern bank for a second time. The ship was refloated hours later with the aid of a responding tug and resumed its voyage.

There were no reports of injuries or pollution following either grounding.

The incident on Thursday, February 6, was a collision between two containerships, the Malta-registered X-Press Mulhacen and the Dutch-flagged Essence, in the locks just north of the Port of Kiel.

Initial reports said the collision occurred as the area was experiencing heavy fog.

Both ships were eventually detained as part of an investigation by the local police but were released and allowed to continue on their respective voyages later in the day on Thursday.

As with the groundings on Wednesday, the collision did not result in any injuries or pollution.