Dutch cargo ship M/V Dintelborg on its way to Vlissingen

M/V Dintelborg close to Helsingborg/Helsingør today.

Late this afternoon the 133 m x 15 m Dutch registry cargo ship M/V Dintelborg was on its way from Kronshtadt to Vlissingen. Moderate or rough seas are forecasted for the German Bight, but the ship should have a safe journey.

However, the Dintelborg has had its share of really bad weather. A couple of years ago the ship was in serious distress southeast of Nantucket Island:

The vessel in question was the M/V DINTELBORG, a Dutch flag, gearless, box hold bulker, with an overall length of 438’, and a deep draft of 22’ aft, carrying a full load (8000 MT) of steel from Oxelosund, Sweden to Delaware. According to information we later received, the vessel had encountered very heavy weather between February 15 and 17 after leaving the English Channel, and had suffered a variety of damages, mostly to deck fittings and bulwarks. We were also advised that some time subsequent to the initial weather damage the ship had a fire and she became disabled on February 25. Information later received from the Coast Guard confirmed that the fire was confined to the bridge, but the damage there required that the main engine and propeller be secured, and emergency steering engaged. It was also reported that power on the ship was limited. --

The tug ROWAN M. MCALLISTER was immediately dispatched to perform the tow. The ROWAN had a rough trip from Providence to the ship through heavy seas and high winds. However, the M/V DINTELBORG was eventually met at sea and taken safely in tow by the ROWAN at 0130 on February 27. According to deckhand Gene Douglas, “You really had to have your head on a swivel as we were attaching the wire. The swells were the biggest I had ever encountered. The winds were gusting up to 60 mph and the deck was really slick from the constant wash. Captain Warren Fossett did a great job holding the tug steady in those conditions. Because the DINTELBORG had lost power, the crew had to haul the lines up by hand. What normally takes about 2 minutes took 20 and 7 or so of their crew members to get the wire up onto the ship.” By 1000 that morning, the M/V DINTELBORG was safely underway and the tug and tow were making 4 knots toward Providence, about 160 NM away.

On This page you can view some interesting pictures of the rescue operation.