The passenger ship alerted the sea rescuers at around 10.45 am. The crew reported smoke developing on board, as the German Maritime Search and Rescue Service (DGzRS) writes in its press release. At the time, the 42-metre-long passenger ship was on its way from Hallig Hooge to Wittdün with 35 passengers and six crew members. A short time later, it reported: "Fire in the engine room".
Sea rescuers travelled to the scene
The German Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) Bremen, which is operated by the DGzRS, coordinated the deployment of the two rescue cruisers "Theo Fischer" (currently based at Nordstrand) and "Ernst Meier-Hedde" (based at Amrum). Both boats set a direct course for the distressed vessel.
Meanwhile, the "Adler-Express" was drifting, unable to manoeuvre, about two nautical miles southwest of the Amrum main town of Wittdün. The crew of the passenger ship managed to bring the fire under control with the ship's own fire extinguishing system while the sea rescuers were still on their way. However, the ship was in danger of running aground on a shoal.
Fire flares up again
A short time later, the "Ernst Meier-Hedde" arrived at the distressed vessel. The rescue cruiser took the ship on the hook and towed her into deeper water. The tug and tow then set course for Wittdün. While still under tow, the passenger ship reported that the fire had flared up again.
The sea rescuers then used another rescue boat to bring extinguishing agents to the distressed vessel. Meanwhile, the rescue cruiser continued its tow in order to reach the Wittdün ferry pier as quickly as possible. In the meantime, fire and rescue services alerted by the DGzRS's Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre were already standing by there.
No injuries on board
At around 12 noon, the sea rescuers safely reached the harbour with the shipwrecked vessel in tow. All passengers and the crew of the "Adler-Express" disembarked unharmed. The Amrum volunteer fire brigade took over further firefighting and brought the fire under control.
At the time of the incident, a moderate breeze of three to four Beaufort was blowing from the southwest, the wave height was up to half a metre and the water was rising. According to the shipping company, the incident was caused by overheating at the wave entrance. This led to the ignition of oil.
