Funeral ship stranded off Juist: sea rescuers on duty!

Funeral ship stranded off Juist: sea rescuers on duty!

An unexpected incident occurred on the water off the idyllic island of Juist this afternoon. A funeral ship called “Aegir” got stuck on a sandbank in the sea gap between Norderney and Juist. At around 1:45 p.m., the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Center (MRCC) informed Bremen about the predicament of the ship, which was traveling with a total of ten people on board. Since the wind was blowing at up to four Beaufort (up to 28 km/h) and a strong ebb current was pushing the ship against the coast, the free towing attempts, even with the support of a ferry, soon failed. The “Aegir” was so high on a sandbank that it was not possible to free herself.

To ensure that everyone on board was safe, the sea rescue workers decided to rescue seven passengers and one crew member from the stricken vessel. Two crew members remained on board while the rescued passengers were handed over to the sea rescue cruiser EUGEN and brought safely to the port of Norddeich. The sea rescuers from the WILMA SIKORSKI took over the rescue on the sandbank, where two other ships were also actively involved. For safety reasons, attempts to tow the boat free were initially unsuccessful because the current was simply too strong.

Another rescue attempt in the night

In the evening, the sea rescuers made a new attempt to free the ship, which had become shabby. Unfortunately, this attempt was also unsuccessful. “The towline broke and the ships could not get close to the stricken vessel due to the low tide,” explained a spokesman for the sea rescue service. A new experiment with running water at night is already being planned. However, there was no information available in advance about possible damage to the ship.

Such operations are not just limited to northern Germany. Organizations around the world are committed to rescuing people in distress at sea. A look at civil sea rescue shows how important it is to support comprehensive and coordinated rescue work. Since 2015, civil organizations have rescued over 175,000 people from the water as the political environment in Europe becomes increasingly tense. Cooperation with authoritarian regimes and the lack of European-coordinated sea rescue are contributing to the increase in deaths in the Mediterranean.

The demands of organizations like United4Rescue and Sea-Watch are therefore clear: a state-coordinated and fully financed rescue program is needed in the Mediterranean in order to actually give people protection and not just rely on mere isolation.

The current situation off Juist reminds us how important the deployment of sea rescuers is and how strong the support base for civil sea rescue is growing. These missions are not only a question of survival, but also of humanity and the protection of our fellow human beings at sea.