A barge has been drifting off the coast of Seine-Maritime for two days and will soon run aground

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This is a difficult operation due to the Storm Darragh which hits the department. Indeed, since Friday December 6, 2024, a barge belonging to the tugboat Boka Glacier broke away and began to drift at sea.

If initially it was in British waters, it is approaching the French coast this Sunday. According to the maritime prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea, it even risks running aground quickly from near Sotteville-sur-Mer.

At 1 p.m. this Sunday, the grounding on the coast, near the towns of Sotteville-sur-Mer and Veules-les-Roses, is imminent. Please note that no crew is on board.

What happened?

After detaching from the tug, the barge began to drift. “She arrived in French waters around 11 p.m. Saturday December 7. The Belgian tugboat Princess and the French tugboat Abeille Horizon went alongside the barge empty of containers and its tugboat to try to assist them,” indicates the Maritime prefecture.

But at that time, the Darragh storm was in full swing, making sea access conditions particularly difficult. The operation to reattach the barge could not be completed.

This Sunday therefore, the barge risks running aground on the coast of Sotteville-sur-Mer. A command post has also been set up near Veules-les-Roses.

Do not go there

To guarantee the safety of this grounding, the Seine-Maritime prefecture asks residents not to go there “in order to give free rein to the operations put in place”.

More information to come

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