DESTINY

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Barge heavily damaged in collision at Antwerp

On Jan 2, 2019, the "Destiny", 347 ts (EU-No.: 03290246) being loaded with a cargo of steel coils bound from the Tata Steel in Velsen to Evry, France, was hit by the pusher tug "Aquafortem", 4594 ts (EU-No.: 02104915), at the Lillo Bridge in Antwerp and suffered heavy damage. The overhanging bow of the pushed barge struck the stern of the smaller ship which was sailing with six knots when the "Aquafortem" was approaching with 10 knots. The skipper Jan Kamstra and his wife Erna were happy to survive unhurt when their ship was struck at the deck level at starboard side and pushed straight into the fairway 700 meters before the Lillo Bridge. Kamstra turned his ship away from the "Aquafortem", and to his surprise, the "Destiny" remained stable and also the cargo did not shift which would have capsized the ship. Yannick van Helsen, the owner and skipper of the "Aquafortem", who was not on board at the time of the collision, immediately rushed to the Lillo Bridge to have a look. He said that the Dutch shipper, who was responsible for the ship at that time, was a very experienced man. According to Van Helsen, the collision was probably the result of one moment of inattention. The skipper had to rely on the radar, because the "Aquafortem" (from 1974) was not equipped with cameras. He suspected that the "Destiny" could not be tracked on the radar image due to false echoes of the nearby bridge. The "Destiny" entered the shipyard Bocxe in Rotteram on Jan 7 for repairs and remained stationary there since. Dutch report with photo: https://www.schuttevaer.nl/nieuws/varend-bestaan/nid30349-groot-ziet-klein-over-het-hoofd-spits-van-achteren-aangevaren.html?fbclid=IwAR122mDck7KLhPmpP86LA1IboGH10sTyUArniDN67U0uPVoJklB5JlyULR0