50 years ago, on a cold winter morning, two ships collided in the port of Hamburg. The barge "Caesar II" sinks in the Elbe. 17 people drown in the icy water.
by Axel Franz
On this cold Tuesday, February 15, 1972, ice floes are floating on the Elbe in the port of Hamburg. The piers between Landungsbrücken and Sandtorhöft have been busy since 6 a.m. As on every morning, launches start every minute to take people to their jobs on the other bank of the Elbe. Around 6,000 dockhands alone, often day laborers, who load and unload cargo ships have to go to the port area.
Routine for the captains of the launches that commute across the Elbe. One of them is Rudolf Hierl with his "Caesar II". 45 men are on board when he unties the ropes on the tree wall at around 6.45 a.m. this Tuesday. He makes a curve with his ship and steers towards the fairway of the North Elbe - as always.
Ferry "Eppendorf" rams barge "Caesar II"
The collision between the ferry and the barge was the most serious shipwreck in the port of Hamburg since the Second World War.A few hundred meters up the Elbe, the "Eppendorf" ferry operated by HADAG (Hafendampfschiffahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft) left shortly before. With no passengers on board yet, Captain Robert Marschatz steers towards the Landungsbrücken, then it is to continue to Waltershof. But that's not the case this morning. Minutes later, the "Eppendorf" rammed the "Caesar II" in the middle of the Elbe. The much larger ferry hits the barge on the side, pushes it a few meters in front of it and then pushes it under the water with its stern. Everything is lightning fast. Eyewitnesses later remembered no rescue operations on the ship. No one has time to reach for lifebuoys or life jackets. The barge sinks into the ice-cold Elbe, which is eleven meters deep at this point.
Desperate fight for survival in ice water
Men who managed to free themselves from the partially open boat swim in the water. You can hardly see them at dusk. A large-scale rescue operation begins immediately. Skippers of other launches who observed the accident come to the rescue and circle the scene of the accident. At 6:52 a.m. the first emergency call reached the fire brigade control center. Vehicles on land and a fireboat start in the direction of Landungsbrücken. Every minute counts, because people can only survive for a short time in the water, which is barely one degree cold. The men desperately cling to the ships and are pulled on board with ropes and boat hooks. Beams of light from searchlights circle over the Elbe and repeatedly hit people desperately struggling to survive. Police and fire boats arrive, and a helicopter is in the air. In the meantime, divers are also looking for survivors in the wreck of the "Cäsar II" at the bottom of the Elbe - without success.
Keyword:barge
The small ships were part of everyday life in Hamburg from the turn of the century until the 1970s. They transported goods and passengers within the port. The flat ships, some of which are only a good ten meters long, are open in the area behind the wheelhouse. Often the ship's captain also stood in the open air. Today, launches are used almost exclusively for harbor tours.
28 people escape death, 17 die
When the rescue operation was stopped hours later, the helpers pulled 28 people out of the water alive, including barge captain Hierl. The number of dead is still unclear, only five bodies were recovered. When the "Caesar II" is lifted that same day, there is no longer any doubt:17 crewmen have drowned. The collision is the worst shipwreck in the port of Hamburg since the Second World War. The last victim was not found until nine weeks after the accident. The body of the 41-year-old worker got caught on the embankment at Holthusenkai near the Elbe bridges.
Maritime office clarifies the question of guilt
HADAG's traditional ship "Kirchdorf" belongs to the same series as the accident ferry "Eppendorf".Skipper Hierl has to answer to the Hamburg Maritime Authority from April 5th, which is supposed to clarify the cause of the accident. During the negotiation, it becomes clear that things always get tight on the Elbe during the morning rush hour. On the day of the accident, too, several barges drove simultaneously in groups towards the fairway in the middle of the Elbe. While the other skippers apparently noticed the approaching ferry and stayed parallel to it, Hierl must have overlooked it. He pulled his ship to the left to cross the river. At that moment, the "Eppendorf" appeared "like a shadow" 40 meters away, says the man with 20 years of accident-free professional experience in the negotiation. The captain of the HADAG ferry, also an experienced seaman, only has fractions of a second to react. Both skippers try to avoid the collision, but ships can neither be steered nor stopped so abruptly. The maritime authority blames Hierl for the accident. He didn't check carefully enough whether a ship with right of way was approaching.
Probation for the barge operator
Today, launches are mainly used for harbor tours.About a year later, a lay judge confirmed this verdict and sentenced the 55-year-old to eight months' probation for manslaughter in 17 cases. At this time, Rudolf Hierl was already back at the helm of his "Caesar II". The ship was only slightly damaged and repaired. A good eight years later, the "Eppendorf" collided again with a barge, one person died in the accident. In 1989 HADAG sold the ship to Israel.
The serious accident in 1972 received wide coverage in the Hamburg media. The question arises whether the safety regulations in the port need to be tightened. However, no new regulations will be issued. It was not until 1987, when more and more tourists drove through the harbor on barges, that the Senate passed a new ordinance on passenger transport.