Swedish Coast Guard Tug Saves Fire-Hit Freighter From Grounding
[Brief] Over the weekend, the Swedish Coast Guard prevented a disabled merchant ship from running aground near Gotska Sandön, an uninhabited island in the Baltic.
On Saturday evening, the freighter Diezeborg was under way on a voyage to Finland when a fire broke out in the engine room at a position northwest of Gotska Sandön. The crew put out the blaze successfully, but the vessel was left disabled, and drifting eastwards.
The shipowner chartered a commercial salvage tug to meet the Diezeborg and take her safely in tow. The tug would arrive Monday morning, too late to avert a grounding, so the Swedish Coast Guard intervened.
The Diezeborg was drifting towards Kopparstenarna, an area of shoals just north of Gotska Sandön. The coast guard rescue tug KBV 002 Triton got under way and arrived on scene on Sunday afternoon. By 1500 hours, the crew had a towline connected and the situation was stabilized.
that matters most
Get the latest maritime news delivered to your inbox daily.
As of Sunday evening, the Triton had Diezeborg in tow and was under way, heading eastwards.
Diezeborg is a 2000-built freighter owned, operated and flagged in the Netherlands. She trades regionally between the Mediterranean, North Sea and the Baltic.