Primula Seaways, a Ro-Ro ship which was involved in a collision of Vlissingen on March 3, could be out of service for a couple of weeks, the vessel’s owner DFDS said in a statement.
The 2004-built Primula Seaways was hit by the container vessel MSC Madrid during the Ro-Ro’s outbound voyage from Ghent to Brevik. Following the collision, Primula was able to sail to Ghent without assistance where it arrived on Saturday.
No persons were injured and the incident caused no pollution. However, the collision caused damage to Primula Seaways’ port side and to one of the trailers located near the damaged part of the hull.
“The damage is now being investigated, and we anticipate that the ship could be out of service for some weeks, but we will need to carry out further investigations to be able to be more specific,” according to DFDS.
“As the Ghent – Gothenburg/Brevik route is a busy one with high cargo volumes, we have decided to swap one of the ships on the route, Ark Germania, with Petunia Seaways from the Gothenburg – Immingham route. Petunia Seaways offers more cargo space than Ark Germania, and Ark Germania will be an acceptable solution for the Immingham route,” Morgan Olausson, Vice President, BU North Sea North and route director for the Gothenburg/Brevik – Ghent route, explained.
“In addition, we have chartered the vessel Maestro Sea to assist us in the immediate short term. She will be available in Gothenburg from Tuesday. DFDS will also consider chartering further tonnage if required,” Olausson added.
The cargo has now been discharged from Primula Seaways in Ghent and will be transported by other vessels to the cargo’s final destination.
