DOUCE FRANCE

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Grounding on the Rhine

The "Douce France" ran aground on the Rhin enroute from Koblenz to Amsterdam on Aug 20, 2018, aroudn 2 p.m.. The ship had on board 125 persons, among them 97 passengers and a crew of 28. It was about to berth in the city center of Colonia when it got stuck with the bow. The Dutch container barge "Millennium" (MMSI: 244660351) managed to pull the ship off at 4.15 p.m. The Rhine was barred by the water police for two hours in that region. The cause of the grounding was a lower water level on the river than expected. German reporta with photoa: https://www.express.de/koeln/koelner-altstadt-kreuzfahrtschiff-faehrt-sich-fest---rheinufer-kurzzeitig-gesperrt-31138964 https://www.rundschau-online.de/region/koeln/niedriger-rheinpegel-schiff-festgefahren-am-koelner-schokoladenmuseum-31138860

Sun lounger caused grounding of river cruise ship

The "Douce France" ran aground on the Rhine at Lorch on July 21, 2012. A crew member caused the accident when he disposed of a broken sun lounger. When he tried to stow away the lounger, he touched the switch for the fuel supply and the engine was shut off. On board were 143 passengers and a crew of 23. The tourists were taken by ferry to shore after two tugs had attempted to pull the vessel off in vain. Then they were taken by bus to the town hall in Lorch. The ship was subsequently pulled off by two tugs and the hull was surveyed bz a diver. The passenger ship was en route from Strasbourg to Koblenz. Most of the passengers were French. German report with photo: http://www.hr-online.de/website/rubriken/nachrichten/indexhessen34938.jsp?rubrik=36082&key=standard_document_45486253