On the early morning of January 1, the 82 meter long self-propelled passenger ship Sans Souci (MMSI: 269055879) collided with a pilot boat on the Elbe River near the entrance to the lock to the Kiel Canal at Brunsbüttel, Germany. The Sans Souci was headed to Kiel from Hamburg with 69 passengers and 23 crew when it approached Brunsbüttel. Conditions were rough on the Elbe with winds reaching 40 knots and waves around 3 meters making the transfer of a pilot quite difficult. During the transfer of the pilot, the pilot boat bumped into the Sans Souci resulting in multiple cabin windows being smashed. Water began to flood the unoccupied passenger cabins. To slow down the water ingress, the vessel entered the southern Brunsbüttel lock.
The vessel would pass into the Kiel Canal where authorities detained the Sans Souci until repairs could be completed. Afterward being certified seaworthy, the vessel proceeded on its journey to Kiel. One passenger would not continue on the journey suffering shock during the incident. Reports state the vessel will require additional cleanup for those cabins that suffered water ingress.
