On the afternoon of January 24, the 85 meter long self-propelled barge Cycloon (MMSI: 244025954) ran aground on the Rhine River near Cologne, Germany. The Cycloon was headed to Venio with a 1300 tons of sand from Nijmegen when it struck the riverbank near the 681 kilometer mark. The vessel sustained damage to its keel allowing uncontrolled water ingress in the bow. To avoid sinking, the barge would later be grounded on a nearby sandbank.

The Cologne fire brigade was called out and found the bow section flooded with water reaching over 2 meters in the cabins. Using multiple fireboats from Cologne and Bonn, pumps were able to control the flooding. A dredger was requested and would lighter some 500 tons of sand off the Cycloon allowing the vessel to be refloated. With the vessel stabilized, the Cylcoon was towed to Mülheim for repairs.