Yesterday afternoon the "Sharki", sunk in the Elbe estuary off Cuxhaven and sailing under the Polish flag, was successfully recovered and the entire fairway around the accident site was opened to traffic again. With the help of divers and two tugs, the yacht was lifted from the bottom and towed to Cuxhaven. There the ship is expected to be lifted ashore this Friday. This was announced yesterday evening by the Cuxhaven Waterways and Shipping Office.
The quick recovery of the wreck had become necessary because the position of the sunken ship had changed over the course of Wednesday. Mike Brodhagen, who is responsible for ship traffic at WSCuxhaven, explains: "An initial investigation of the accident site with the multi-purpose ship Neuwerk and the direction finding ship Grimmershörn on the morning of August 12th showed that the 'Sharki' was lying flat on the ground However, the sunken ship straightened itself up again so that the mast protruded from the water. As a result, the first assessment of the danger situation changed: The 'Sharki' was in the deep part of the fairway, on which the big ships depend, and the soaring one Mast posed a significant threat to shipping."
The shipping traffic on the Elbe had to be diverted around the accident site by the Cuxhaven traffic control center. At the same time, the WSCuxhaven commissioned a local salvage company to salvage the wreck. The commissioning was necessary because, due to the specific risk situation, timely action by the ship owner could not be assumed.
The sailing yacht sank on the night of August 11th to 12th in the Outer Elbe between Cuxhaven and the island of Neuwerk. All people on board the damaged sailing yacht were rescued by the DGzRS. The exact course of the accident is currently being determined by the water police. According to initial findings, it cannot be ruled out that the sinking of the ship is related to a buoy collision.
The Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSV) is responsible for the safety and ease of shipping on the federal waterways as well as for the condition of the federal waterways for shipping. This also includes the removal of obstacles insofar as they pose a risk to the aforementioned areas. The Waterways and Shipping Office (WSA) Cuxhaven is locally responsible for the Lower Elbe from St. Margarethen to the North Sea.