UTOPIA XL

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Cracks were caused by storm damage

The "Utopia XL" which has suffered water ingress on the Maas near Belfeld on April 9 had previously suffered damage during a storm in Hasselt. It was then repaired in a shipyard, but some residual damage was overlooked. This allowed water to enter the engine room through cracks in the hull of the ship. The cracks could not yet be sealed, and an interim solution was chosen. First, clay was put into the cracks, which took 12 hours to harden. The next morning it was determined after a test that the method was successful. Then the ship sailed back to Stein, from where it had come, where the cargo of 300 tons of fertilizer was taken off to make the ship lighter and get the cracks above the waterline. This allowed it to sail safely to a shipyard in Maasbracht, where the damage was permanentyl repaired. No further problems occurred, and shipping was not bothered.

Water ingress in engine room

The "Ultimo XL", 359 ts (EU-No.: 02014916), ran into trouble on the Maas near Roffart in Baarlo in the afternoon of April 9, 2019. The ship which was loaded with 300 tons of fertilizer, bound from Stein to Coevorden. It had suffered water ingress in the engine room and was berthed at the quay near the Belfeld Lock and stabilized with dewatering pumps of the fire brigade which attended at 4.30 p.m. Rijkswaterstaat and a contracted company worked to patch the leak. Two cracks of ten centimeters length were found in the aft. Dutch reports with photos and video: https://www.1limburg.nl/alarm-op-de-maas-schip-nood https://www.limburger.nl/cnt/dmf20190409_00100431/schip-in-nood-op-de-maas-bij-baarlo