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Double Trouble for the Historic Elbe
01 Nov 2004
A massive project to completely restore the ocean going tug Elbe to its original 1959 condition suffered a serious blow for the second time this year. Back in July the tug was struck and sunk at her Rotterdam moorings by a ship manoeuvring at an adjacent berth. The vessel was refloated and repairs to the hull had been completed when on 27 October the tug inexplicably sank at the Wartsila yard at Schiedam where the Smit-MAN main engines were being overhauled. By that stage much of the ship's machinery had been completely overhauled and work was progressing on the renewal of electric cabling.
The cause of this latest sinking was still unknown at the time of writing.
Elbe 's stern was found to be deeper in the water then normal, and it appeared that the tug was flooding very quickly for no apparent reason. Smit mobilised tugs and a diving team but could not prevent the vessel being seriously flooded.
The restoration of the Elbe , originally a deep-sea tug operated by Smit, was being undertaken by a dedicated group of enthusiasts with considerable support from a formidable list of sponsors. Since leaving the Smit fleet in 1976 she had fulfilled several roles, including those of a seagoing pilot vessel and a member of the Greenpeace fleet. Work on the tug had been going well and she was underway earlier in the year at a tug parade celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Maasluis Tug Museum. At that time work on her complete restoration was due to be completed by 2008 - that date may now be in doubt.
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