Keil Canal traffic have confirmed closed – some parts of crane carried by MERI fell into water after collision, and sank.
Heavy lift ship MERI cargo, crane spare parts, contacted Holtenau Bridge in Kiel Canal at around 0340 UTC Nov 30, shortly after the ship entered Canal for southbound transit. The ship was moored near bridge, bridge might sustain serious damages, bridge traffic closed.
Canal traffic is reportedly, also closed. Ship’s or ship’s cargo damages unknown. MERI is en route from Rostock to Esbjerg, Jutland, Denmark. As of 0800 UTC MERI remained berthed.
Heavy Load Carrier MERI is currently located at BALTIC – Kiel Canal at position 54° 22′ 10.6″ N, 010° 06′ 37.3″ E as reported by MarineTraffic Terrestrial Automatic Identification System on 2022-11-30 10:53 UTC (7 minutes ago)
The vessel is currently at port NORD-OSTSEE-KANAL, DE and her next destination is ESBJERG, DK
The wind in this area at that time blows from East direction at force 3 Beaufort.
MERI (IMO: 9622502) is a Heavy Load Carrier that was built in 2012 (10 years ago) and is sailing under the flag of Finland.
It’s carrying capacity is 4835 t DWT and her current draught is reported to be 5 meters. Her length overall (LOA) is 105.4 meters and her width is 18.8 meters.
New FleetMon Vessel Safety Risk Reports Available: https://www.fleetmon.com/services/vessel-risk-rating/
Kiel Canal, German Nord-Ostsee-Kanal (“North Sea–Baltic Sea Canal”), important waterway in northern Germany, extending eastward for 98 km (61 miles) to connect the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.
The canal constitutes the safest, most convenient, shortest, and cheapest shipping route between the two seas. It runs from Brunsbüttelkoog (on the North Sea, at the mouth of the Elbe River) to Holtenau (at Kiel Harbour on the Baltic Sea).
The canal has been enlarged twice and is today 160 metres (526 feet) wide and 11 metres (37 feet) deep and is spanned by seven high-level bridges that have about 43 metres (140 feet) of clearance for ships beneath them. The locks are 45 metres (146 feet) wide by 327 metres (1,072 feet) long.
