LOESCHBOOT WESTPHAL

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Fire boat assisted two barges and a tug

The 'Branddirektor Westphal' was among the units responding to the grounding of the 15-m-tug "Galant" (built 1927) and the barge 'VS 6' of the Hinrich K.P. Vogler Wasserbau GmbH on the Elbe in Hamburg on June 18, 2024, at 3.30 p.m. The tug, en route to a construction site, had run onto the dam between the "Dockland"-building at the Altona cruise terminal and the Neumühlen tug station with a draft of 1.95 meters. The guide dam, which is marked with signs and is made of piled-up rocks and is intended to keep the current in the fairway, was covered by water at the time. At times the "Galant" threatened to tip over as the water receded, which was why a large contingent of firefighters was called out. Besides the "Branddirektor Westphal", the multi-purpose ship "Prag" was mobilized aling with numerous forces including divers arrived on the shore side, but soon the situation was classified as stable. The crew was fine, there was no water ingress and no leaking of pollutants. Both ships refloated again with the rising tide on June 19 at around 3 a.m. The same morning, a barge suffered a leak on the Gent bank in Waltershof at around 5 a.m. Powerful pumps were hoisted on board from the "Branddirektor Westphal". and the damaged vessel was bailed out. The barge, loaded with silt, could be stabilized. Reports with photos: https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/hamburg/Schiff-faehrt-auf-Damm-auf-Feuerwehreinsatz-auf-der-Hamburger-Elbe-,havarie680.html https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/hamburg/Hamburger-Hafen-Feuerwehr-rettet-mit-Schlick-beladenes-Schiff,havarie682.html