The floating restaurant-barge Schooner’s suffered water ingress at it’s berth on the Ohio River in Guyandotte, Huntington, West Virginia. A maintenance worker alerted that the barge had suffered a leak and was partially flooded. Cables were ran to hold the barge in place while pump trucks arrived to help pump water from the hull. The cause of the leak was not yet known.
On February 6, the 75 meter long barge Rick capsized on the Wester Scheldt near Breskens, Netherlands. The Rick was busy being loaded with a cargo of gravel. The Rick was moored alongside the 85 meter long dredger Interballast 1 when the Rick suddenly rolled over. Several KNRM lifeboats, pilot boats along with vessel from Belgian Navy responded to the scene. One crewman working on the deck was thrown into the river, but was quickly recovered. The other two crewmen on board the Rick were trapped below. The two men had been asleep when the vessel capsized. Divers knocked on the hull to see if there was any response from the men, but did not get an answer. The search was suspended and the focus was keeping the vessel from drifting away. A tug pushed the overturned barge onto a sandbar to stabilize the wreck. A few hours later, a second crewman was rescued. He had survived in an air pocket, but had suffered from hypothermia. The third crewman was still reported as missing. Reports state the Rick was to be dewatered and taken to Terneuzen.
The 63 meter long self-propelled barge Undine 2 allided against a pier off Emmerich, Germany. The Undine 2 was proceeding on the Rhine from Tolkamer with a cargo of 700 tons of sand when it suffered engine failure. The crew attempted to keep the barge from going adrift by dropping the vessel’s anchor, but the current caused the Undine 2 to swing around and struck a floating pier. The Undine 2 suffered only minor scratches, but the pier was significantly damaged. The pier’s pontoon suffered water ingress and the gangway was twisted. No reports of injuries. Reports state estimated damage to the pier to be around 120,000 euros.
