Dozens of people on board Heligoland ferry drifts rudderless on the North Sea after power failure

The "Funny Girl" is on its way back from Helgoland to Büsum. But then the power on board fails. The ferry could not make it to port under its own power. It has to be towed away.

A passenger ship has dozens of people on board. There was a blackout, a classic power failure, said a spokesman for the Elbe-Nordsee Waterways and Shipping Authority (WSA) to the German Press Agency. This is not unusual and can usually be rectified with on-board resources. Not in this case, however. The media had previously reported.

According to the "Hamburger Abendblatt" (paid article), a switchboard of the electrical system for the engine room had stopped working. As a result, both generators had failed, the cooling of the machines and thus the machines themselves. According to the report, the emergency generator was unable to feed any power into the grid.

Tugs in use

The shipping company had requested private tugs to tow the "Funny Girl", said the WSA spokesperson. Official tugs are reportedly not involved. According to information from the ship tracking service Marinetraffic, tugs have already arrived at the passenger ship.

There were no injuries. The sea was calm and no other ships or similar were involved in the accident, said the WSA spokesperson. However, the passengers will only be able to go ashore after a considerable delay.

dpa