A ship has been chained in the port of Terneuzen since Saturday, after it entered the safety zone of the Borssele wind energy zone. A collision could be avoided, police said. According to the police, many things turned out to be wrong on the ship.
A Coast Guard tug boat that is on standby near the Borssele wind farm saw the ship, which sailed under the Vanuatu flag, setting course for the wind farm. The Scheldt Coordination Center was then warned. The ship was called, but the captain, according to the police, did not understand what was going on and continued his course. When the ship entered the safety zone of the wind farm, traffic control ordered a change of course, which would have prevented a collision.
Once in the port of Terneuzen, the 34-year-old captain from Azerbaijan and the ship were checked by the police. Among other things, it turned out that the captain was sailing with so-called open source electronic sea charts, on which no buoys and wind farms were visible. Also available nautical charts were not used for navigation. The captain accepted a settlement proposal of 1500 euros for entering the safety zone of the wind farm.
A first inspection by the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate also revealed so many shortcomings that the ship was not allowed to leave the port. On Monday, a more extensive inspection revealed that the crew would have a lack of knowledge to safely sail the ship. For example, they could not handle communication equipment and were unable to perform stability calculations. That is why the ship is still on the chain for the time being, according to the police.
Some Mariners are roaming the high seas with a deep disrespect of all nautical traditions. Often luck rides with them,