On the morning of 7 January, a ship pushing a barge ran aground at the entrance to the Juliana Canal. The pushed barge then sank causing a complete blockage of the waterway. Just after 4 pm the barge was pulled free.
The barge was loaded with 1400 tonnes of limestone and needed to be salvaged. The vessel itself remained intact and there were no injuries of the crew.
The accident caused a complete blockage of the Meuse River between Limmel and Ternaaien. At the time of the accident there was an increased outflow on the Meuse. This made the salvage more difficult.
Also read: Ship at Borgharen weir pulled free, shipping resumed
Removing the cargo
To refloat the sunken barge, the limestone had to be transferred to a crane barge. Luckily, such a vessel was already in the area for work on the Juliana Canal. This vessel, De Prins 6, subsequently set to work transhipping the stones, which eventually took several hours.
Around 4.20 pm, Rijkswaterstaat reported that the barge had been refloated and was en route to the port of Stein. This meant shipping could also resume.
Picture (top): The limestone being transferred to a crane barge (photo Rijkswaterstaat).
Also read: Ship hits weir and sinks, salvage planned
