Collision Near Rotterdam Knocks Containers Into the River

On December 5, a collision on the Scheur River near Rotterdam resulted in four containers falling into the water. The incident involved a containership and the autonomous vessel River Drone 5, which was under manual control at the time.

The collision occurred at approximately 6:15 a.m. local time near Koning Willem Alexander Boulevard in Maassluis. While the River Drone 5 is designed for fully autonomous operations, it was not operating in autonomous mode during the incident.

Both vessels stayed afloat following the collision, but four containers were dislodged and ended up in the water. The containers, later confirmed to be empty, eventually washed ashore along the Scheur Riverbank.

The maintenance and salvage vessel Hebo Cat 7 was deployed to retrieve the containers that had washed up on the riverbank.

The River Drone 5, classified as an inland freighter and registered under the Belgian flag, measures 106 meters in length, 12 meters in width, and has a deadweight tonnage of 3,850.