CSCL Jupiter grounded in known chokepoint

The grounding of a CoscoCS-owned containership occurred in an area that is known to be difficult to navigate, a reenactment of the incident shows.

The 14,074-teu CSCL Jupiter (built 2011) left the DP World-owned Antwerp Gateway terminal at approximately 0600 hours UTC (Co-ordinated Universal Time) on Monday, according to data provided by Genscape Vesseltracker.

The vessel then proceeded up the Scheldt river en-route to Hamburg, when it attempted to manoeuvre into the western estuary leading to the North Sea.

But 53 minutes into the voyage, the CSCL Jupiter ran aground at an area called Bocht van Bath, or Bath's Bend, which lies on the Netherlands side of the Scheldt.

The grounding shut the river to maritime traffic. A flotilla of tugboats eventually refloated the CSCL Jupiter. 

Bath's Bend is a known bottleneck, especially for big ships. The 18,000-teu Mary Maersk (built 2013) was able to navigate Bath's Bend into the Scheldt in 2013, becoming the largest boxship to call on Antwerp. But that transit required specific conditions for tides, wind speed and direction.