Bridge Allision on Belgian Canal

On Monday the container feeder Vios struck the Boulevard drawbridge in Willebroek, Belgium, lifting the bridge deck by half a meter and crumpling three containers.

It was the second bridge strike on the Sea Canal Brussels this month, following the December 17 allision of the sand carrier Tuimelaar with a railway bridge at Ruisbroek, which resulted in the removal of the Tuimelaar's wheelhouse.

Belgian authorities are still investigating but preliminary evidence suggests that a miscalculation by the skipper was the primary cause of the allision. The names of the crew were not immediately released by authorities.

A car was on the bridge at the time of the accident, but the driver was not harmed. The ship was able to work itself free and back down to a safe mooring on pilings away from the bridge.

Emergency services shut down canal traffic in the vicinity of the bridge during the investigation, in part to prevent any wake adjacent to the barge, which had one damaged container threatening to topple over.

The drawbridge was examined by transportation engineers, tested for raising / lowering and pronounced fit for service. The bridge suffered no structural damage in the allision and was reopened to car traffic the same day.

No injuries were reported in the accident, neither on the bridge nor the Vios.