Containership Maersk Launceston and Greek Minesweeper Collide Off Piraeus

A Greek Navy minesweeper was badly damaged after colliding with a much larger containership off Piraeus port on Tuesday morning.

The incident involved the Navy vessel Kallisto and the Maersk Launceston, a Portuguese-flagged containership owned and managed by J.T. Essberger.

All 27 crew members of the minesweeper are safe and accounted. Two suffered relatively minor injuries, a statement from the Hellenic Coast Guard said.

The Coast Guard’s Joint Search and Rescue Coordination Center was notified of the incident at 07:40 a.m. local time on Tuesday.

The Kallisto has since been towed to the Salamis Naval Base.

Maersk Launceston was not badly damaged and is being detained by the Central Port Authority of Piraeus while a preliminary investigation in being conducted, the Coast Guard said. Reporting indicates that the captain of the containership may have been arrested or detained.

Maersk posted a statement to Twitter:

"In Maersk, we are aware of the serious incident involving the container vessel Maersk Launceston, which is owned and managed by J.T. Essberger. We are in contact and have offered our full support to the owners during this time." Maersk (@Maersk) October 27, 2020

"Immediately after the incident all relevant authorities have been notified The exact cause of the incident is yet unknown." Maersk (@Maersk) October 27, 2020

The Maersk Launceston is registered in Portugal. It was built in 2005 and has capacityof 4,533 TEU, according to data from MarineTraffic.com. AIS shows the track of the vessel as it departed Piraeus.

Imagery of the minesweeper show the vessel with its stern missing, however the vessel was somehow able to stay afloat.