Tank Barge Wheelhouse Destroyed in Bridge Strike at Izegem, Belgium
The inland tank barge Voluntas lost its wheelhouse after striking the Centrumbrug bridge on the Roeselare–Leie Canal at Izegem, Belgium, on the morning of 7 November. Izegem is a small town in the province of West Flanders, in north-western Belgium, on the canal that links Roeselare with the River Leie.
According to reports, the barge had just finished discharging a cargo of fuel oil at Roeselare and was sailing empty. Without cargo, it was floating much higher in the water, which reduced the clearance under the bridge. The wheelhouse was too high to pass and was destroyed in the impact. A car carried on the barge’s deck was also knocked loose.
From the CrewMirror Blog
The skipper saw the danger and jumped out of the wheelhouse just before the collision. He was injured and taken to hospital by ambulance. The other crew members were not hurt. A crew member moved the barge back from the bridge, and a passing cargo vessel helped push it to the canal bank, where it was moored at Zuidkaai.
The Flemish waterway authority, De Vlaamse Waterweg, said the bridge had no structural damage and did not need to be closed. Another cargo barge lost its wheelhouse at the same bridge in 2023. No official cause has yet been announced.
CrewMirror Takeaway
Air draft changes sharply when a vessel discharges cargo, so crews should recalculate it after every loading or discharge and check it against bridge clearances in the passage plan before departure.
