On Tuesday April 6 the Netherlands Coastguard noticed that the container vessel mv Escape started circling at roughly 9 nautical miles North of Vlieland due to malfunction of the rudder system.
The Netherlands Coastguard ordered the offshore safety tug Guardian to mobilise from its Den Helder base to assist mv Escape.
In rough conditions mv Guardian managed to connect a towline to mv Escape. The Guardian towed the vessel to a safe position where another tug (Multratug 29) took over to tow the Escape back to Rotterdam.
The Guardian returned on station for emergency duties under contract with the Netherlands Coastguard.
The Escape is an 170 meter Dutch flagged container feeder of the BalticMax class, operated by Confeeder Shipping of Rhoon.
Both of the tugs that were involved with the operation are owned and operated by Multraship, a leading Dutch towage and salvage company, part of the Muller Maritime Group.
Photo: Flying Focus Aerial Photography, courtesy of Multraship.