The 189 meter long, 6475 dwt r0-ro ferry Nils Holgersson struck the berthed 170 meter long, 6235 dwt ro-ro ferry Urd at Travemuende, Germany.  The Nils Holgersson was approaching its berth and was performing a maneuver where the ferry was to turn around when it lurched forward and plunged into the side of the Urd.   The bow of the Holgersson punctured the Urd’s hull leaving a two by three meter hole below the waterline.   The Urd quickly flooded and began to list over.   The crew attempted to control the flooding by sealing the damaged compartments and engaged the Urd’s pumps.   The local fire brigade responded to the scene and brought additional dewatering pumps to help stabilize the ferry.   However, the flooding continued until Urd’s bow touched bottom.   Along with flooding, the Urd suffered significant damage to a portion of its upper deck and cargo deck.   Several vehicles were damaged or destroyed with another 50 left below deck.   Reports state many vessels were safely unloaded, but no word to the fate of the vehicles below deck.

The Nils Holgersson proceeded to its berth where it safely disembarked it’s 63 passengers.  The Nils Holgersson’s bow was damaged, but no reports of water ingress.    Luckily, there were no injuries on either ferry.  After the allision, an oil slick was spotted near the Urd.   The Coast Guard placed two oil booms around the Urd to contain the pollution.    Authorities have launched an investigation into the incident.   Initial reports state the accident may have been caused by a technical fault and not human error.

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