Containership strikes berthed vessel, cranes at Busan, South Korea

Authorities in South Korea are working to determine the extent of damage that resulted from an incident wherein a containership allided with a berthed vessel and three dockyard cranes at Busan New Port on Monday, April 6.

The Panamanian-flagged Milano Bridge (pictured) was manoeuvring to dock with assistance from a pilot at the port’s North International Container Terminal at around 14:00 local time when it struck a berthed containership, the Hong Kong-registered Seaspan Ganges.

Milano Bridge then allided with a cluster of cranes, causing one to collapse and another two to be pushed off their rails, rendering the latter unusable as well.

A dock worker suffered minor injuries after he jumped out of his crane just moments before it was knocked down by the containership.

Port officials said it would take an estimated 18 months for the collapsed crane to be replaced while the two other damaged cranes would require only three to five months of repair to return them to normal operating condition.

Both Milano Bridge and Seaspan Ganges suffered only minor damage from the incident, shortly after which the latter vessel sailed out of the port.

The Korea Coast Guard has launched an investigation to identify the factors that contributed to the mishap.