Holiday Drama

[Bullfrog]

Ann and I just got back from Germany where we have been on a cruise on the Rhine and Moselle. Our cruise boat was the Rex Rheni.

 

 

 

 

We had a great time and really enjoyed it, lovely old boat, excellent attentive crew, and lots of food and drink. The country there is stunning and there is always lots to see.

At lunchtime on Monday we were just travelling upstream through the centre arch of the Wolf Bridge near Trabern Trabech when we were struck hard by a massive fully laden tanker travelling the other way. The collision was port bow to port bow. Most of the passengers were fortunately seated in the dining room. Those that were standing, getting their dessert, were knocked over like nine-pins, as were some of the crew. Even some of the seated guests were sent flying complete with their chairs. Fixtures and fittings such as the musical equipment and TV in the lounge were torn from their fittings and crashed to the deck. Hundreds of glasses, bottles and china-ware from the bars were smashed all over the floor.

There was a moments confusion when everyone tried to work out what was happening, and then Captain Arthur Petri ordered us to our muster stations. By the time I got on deck the boat was standing in the shallows on the right hand bank, the barge was still progressing downstream. Crewmen carried out a visual check to ensure the hull was not breached. Following this, the captain brought the ship off the bank using her bow thrusters and then we continued upstream. We were released from muster stations but lunch was abandoned because of the amount of broken glass spread over the dining room.

First aid was carried out by the excellent crew but a few passengers were to be hospitalised later for X-rays for suspected fractures and one blood-clot. Fortunately all returned to the boat over the next 24 hours. This was a SAGA cruise and several of the our fellow passengers were quite frail pensioners, it was astonishing that there were no worst injuries.

Our captain stated he had been on the river for 11 years and had never experienced anything like this before. He was genuinely very upset, despite it being no fault of his and although he and his crew did a sterling job of dealing with the aftermath.

Once we arrived at Bernkastel we all rushed to take a look at the external damage.

 

 

Note the way the combined walk-way/rubbing strake has been knocked downwards out of the horizontal.

 

This was quite sobering when we saw how hard we had been hit and how much worse it could have been if for instance the impact had been through one of the windows or if the angle had been less acute, and the boats had not bounced off each other.

The police were waiting at Bernkastel to take statements and since then we have heard the following, note this is hearsay and not first hand:-


The other captain has been arrested and charged as follows:-

1 He was an inadequate German speaker (French?) this in itself is an offence on the Rhine/Moselle where skippers communicate a lot via radio.
2 He was in the wrong position.(the RR has a sophisticated nav system including plots of all other ships’ transponders in range)

 

3 He did not stop to render assistance after the accident
4 Two witnesses on our boat reported seeing crew men running along the sides of the barge towards the wheel-house. The implication that either no-one was at the wheel, or else a non-qualified man was at the helm.

The rest of our holiday continued to plan and was hugely enjoyable despite our scare.

I would love to follow this case and learn the out-come, does anyone know how I could achieve this?

I am also sure there are many of you who will have a view how this happened, and whose right of way it might have been!

I look forward to your comments.

David

Edited May 21, 2015 by Bullfrog

[Starcoaster]

Blimey! What a palaver, and as you say, could have been a lot worse.

[ditchcrawler]

I don't go on holiday for excitement, I like boring, I am glad I wasn't there.

[DeanS]

Wow...glad you're ok.

 

You say the following...."struck hard by a massive fully laden tanker travelling the other way.". Do you have any pics of what type of tanker this is.....?

[RLWP]

Comments

 

On our Scottish cruise, the boat hit the lock exit and broke in the crew quarters. The captain was mortified amd was replacing the window at Inverness, screwdriver in hand

 

Cruise boat captains are awesome

 

Richard

[Bullfrog]

Dean S

 

Definitely NOT the same barge, but similar style:-

 

[Starcoaster]

I must admit when I saw the pic of your holiday boat at the top of the post before I read on, my first though was "blimey, they let hirers out steering some seriously large shitkickers in Germany!"

Edited May 21, 2015 by Starcoaster

[Bullfrog]

Starry I'm really glad I wasn't steering that one!

 

(BTW It's done with a titchy little joy-stick)

Edited May 21, 2015 by Bullfrog

[BGA]

I've spent a couple of weeks on that ship, in fact that looks like my cabin window down near the water line, I had a great holiday on her too nowhere near as dramatic as yours but very enjoyable.