Russian warship, Swiss-owned reefer vessel collide in Danish waters

Officials of the Danish Ministry of Defence have confirmed that a collision had occurred between a Russian Navy ship and a Swiss-owned reefer vessel near Denmark’s maritime border with Sweden on Wednesday, September 23.

The incident involving the Project 1331M anti-submarine corvette Kazanets and the Marshall Islands-flagged reefer vessel Ice Rose occurred near the Oresund Bridge linking Denmark and Sweden at around 07:30 UTC on Wednesday.

Officials said Ice Rose was sailing from Saint Petersburg to Gothenburg when it collided with Kazanets in dense fog. The impact left the reefer ship with a large gash on its starboard hull near the superstructure area while the corvette also suffered a breach.

No water ingress has been reported as the damage to both vessels was limited to just above the waterline.

The two vessels were still able to sail under their own power and have since left the area to undergo repairs at separate ports, Kazanets at the Baltiysk naval base in Kaliningrad Region and Ice Rose at Denmark’s Port of Odense.

A Danish defence official clarified that the corvette had permission to operate in the country’s waters at the time of the incident.

The same official added that no injuries have been reported on either vessel and that no oil spills were detected in the area following the collision.