You are on a roll. Keep it up!!!
More Dutch shennanigans:
DULUTH, MN -- A ship leaving the Port of Duluth-Superior on Wednesday went off course and struck a pier, narrowly missing the Aerial Lift Bridge, authorities said.
The 433-foot, Dutch-flagged Vlieborg struck the pier wall about 1:30 p.m., just before it headed under the bridge. The six-year-old freighter turned around and headed back into the harbor for inspection.
No injuries were reported.
"He was lined up straight with the ship canal," lift bridge operator Dale Mitchell said. "All of a sudden, he went port [left] and hit the wall."
Tourists and spectators were on the pier as the ship approached, apparently unaware the vessel was out of control. "We're yelling at them from the bridge to get back," Mitchell said.
Mitchell said the pier and ship sustained little visible damage above the water line, but he didn't know how much damage either sustained below the water line. The vessel was loaded with beet pellets, according to the Shipping News, a Duluth publication that tracks local shipping activity.
Ray Skelton, director of environmental and governmental affairs for the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, said it was likely a freak accident caused by a steering gear failure. Skelton said, to his knowledge, the last ship to strike the pier was the Charles M. Beeghly in the 1970s.
Associated Press
Pics at www.duluthshipppingnews.com