On May 16, a chartership ran aground on the Hop shallow on the IJssel Sea and requested the help of Coast Guards.
What happened?
The chartership ‘Vrijheid’ ran aground on the Hop shallow located on the IJssel Sea. after the vessel ran aground it raised a distress signal and alerted the Dutch Coastguard.
The lifeboats from the KNRM stations Medemblik, Andijk and Enkhuizen spent hours trying to get the three-master off and to tow it to Enkhuizen.
Rescue hampered by winds
In addition to the size of the ship, the wind with force 5 from the North also created a considerable challenge and hampered the rescue efforts.
The lifeboats “t Span” from Andijk and “Bernardine” from Medemblik were the first to arrive on the spot and assessed the situation. After assessing the condition of the crew members and deemed safe, they decided to wait for the larger lifeboat “Watersport” from Enkhuizen to establish a towing connection.
Ran out of fuel
After about 1.5 hours the ship, pounded by the surf, the chartership was pulled from the shallows, but it turned out that it had no propulsion anymore because the fuel had run out and furthermore the rudder also had become inoperative.
Under the guidance of the lifeboats the ship was towed and is currently moored at the Gependam jetty.
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Source: KNRM
