By Suman Varandani - A 633-foot-long German container ship ran aground off a sports facility of the University of Hong Kong in the residential neighborhood of Pok Fu Lam on Sunday as heavy rains and severe winds created rough sailing conditions in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
The vessel, the Hansa Constitution, was about to collide with a sea wall near the Stanley Ho Sports Center in Pok Fu Lam, when the captain reportedly followed emergency measures by dropping anchor to slow down the vessel. No casualties were reported but authorities said that the extent of damage to the ship was unclear.
Julia Eble, a spokeswoman with Hansa Treuhand Gruppe, the Hamburg-based owner of the ship, reportedly said that the accident may have been caused due to a loss of power on board the vessel, which had sailed from Yokohama in Japan and was navigating the East Lamma Channel on its way to the Chinese port city of Shenzhen, according to South China Morning Post, or SCMP.
Hong Kong's Marine Department reportedly confirmed to local media that there was some mechanical malfunction on the vessel when it was some distance away from the sports field. According to Bloomberg, the Marine Department had issued an advisory Sunday, warning of restricted visibility of less than two nautical miles and advised vessels to exercise “extreme caution.”
Kevin Sites, a local resident, told SCMP that he heard a screeching sound from his home on Sha Wan Drive and video-taped the incident.
Check out the video here.