SLAPSA investigating capsized cargo vessel
[ 8 Mar 2010 ]
SLASPA says it is working with the vessel’s owners and operators to identify what caused the 657-teu Angeln (built 2004) to capsize after departing the port of Vieux-Fort.
“Shortly after departure, a problem with stability developed and the vessel took a considerable list,” according to a statement released by Bernuth Line, the charterer of the ship.
The Angeln was carrying more than 60 forty-foot containers when it set sail from the port of Vieux-Fort.
Investigators are conducting interviews with the ship’s 15 crew members, a mix of Eastern Europeans, Filipinos, and one Sri Lankan.
As TradeWinds reported last week, the containership ran into trouble shortly after leaving the port.
The ship’s owner, Brise Bereederungs of Germany, said in an official statement that the weather conditions at the time of the accident were fair, the ship did not touch ground and a collision did not take place. (To read the article in full, click here.)
It is still unknown whether the ship or its cargo is salvageable, but local authorities say several containers have washed up along the coastline.
The vessel is owned by Brise Bereederungs of Germany, and was chartered to Miami-based Bernuth Lines for a Caribbean liner service.
