As the owner, the Hamburg Maritime Foundation, reports, the campaign went without complications:
The pilot schooner "No.5 Elbe", which was wrecked on the Elbe on June 8, 2019, lay on the slip of the Peters shipyard in Wewelsfleth for many weeks after the incident. There the pilot protector was emptied and cleaned of the silt that had penetrated.
The damage caused by the collision with the container feeder ship on the hull of the ship was professionally sealed so that "No.5 Elbe" could be towed back to Hamburg on its own keel. From there, the pilot schooner goes back to Denmark to the "Hvide Sande Shipyard". The shipyard is entrusted with the professional repair of the wooden hull.
After the pilot schooner arrives at the Danish shipyard, the slipping and preparation for the shipyard stay takes place. For this purpose, the pilot protector is brought into a shipbuilding hall to begin with the damage assessment. The repair places particularly high demands on the commissioned shipyard due to the partly preserved original substance. The repair or reconstruction of the damage is carried out without affecting the historical substance of the interior.
The pilot schooner "No.5 Elbe", as the oldest seagoing ship built entirely from wood, is part of the maritime heritage of the Hanseatic City of Hamburg. This uniqueness has a great influence on the execution of the repair work. The pilot saver "No.5 Elbe" has been owned by the Hamburg Maritime Foundation since 2002 and is run by the honorary members of the association "Friends of the pilot saver No.5 Elbe e. V." operated. The members contribute to the success of the project through their voluntary work.