Barge grounded on the Weser

On Dec 17, 2017, the "Lee", 1065 ts (EU-No.: 04401580), ran aground on the Weser at Landesbergen in the Nienburg municipality around midday. The barge which was coming from Bremen, was loaded with 900 tons soy grits. The river had to be barred for shipping after the accident. The barge had got stuck amidships at the tip of the Weser island in Landesbergen between the main fairway and the lock canal on a sandbar while passing a long curve after it veered off course due to the high water level and the strong current. The fire rescue Landesbergen was alerted and dropped off representatives of the police and the river authority on the grounded ship. Due to the falling water level first priority was to get it off again as soon as possible. For this purpose, the Weser was dammed up in the area of the lock and the hydroelectric power station, thus achieving a level increase of more than ten centimeters. The ship managed to get off again without assistance. The fire brigades from Husum and Groß-Varlingen could be stood down again before having arrived the grounding site.