Tall Ship Topples Over in Drydock

A 112-year-old tall ship has toppled over during a drydock maintenance period in South Africa.

The Netherlands-registered Europa fell over during an attempt to transfer the steel-hulled barque back into the water from drydock at a Cape Town ship repair facility, leaving one crewmember with minor injuries.

"The injured sailor is receiving the necessary medical care and is doing well, given the circumstances," the ship's operator Bark Europa said. "He is currently in stable condition and receiving appropriate medical care."

Europa was scheduled to commence a 53-day cruise from Cape Town starting June 13, but it is currently unknown when the ship will be able to reenter service as crews asses the extent of damages.

"At this moment, we cannot determine the exact timeline for resuming our sailing operations," the ship's operator said. "In the last days, hard work has been done to stabilize the ship and a thorough investigation has been started to determine the following steps to get our lady Europa sailing again. . . We are dedicated to getting our lady Bark Europa back to full operational capacity as soon as possible."

Built in 1911 at the H.C. Stülcken & Sohn shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, the ship was originally named Senator Brockes and used by the German Federal Coast Guard as a lightship on the river Elbe until 1977.

The vessel was purchased by a Dutch citizen in 1985, and in 1994 it was fully restored as three-mast rigged vessel and retrofitted for special-purpose sail-training.

Today, Europa cruises worldwide and accepts paying sailing trainees for short or long trip segments, including ocean crossings, Sail Training Association races, and annual voyages to Antarctica, and between South Georgia, Tristan da Cunha, and Cape Town.