MV ''Maassluis'' was a

chemical tanker A chemical tanker is a type of tanker (ship), tanker ship designed to transport chemicals in bulk. As defined in MARPOL Annex II, chemical tanker means a ship constructed or adapted for carrying in bulk any liquid product listed in chapter 17 o ...

owned by the Dutch shipping-company

Nedlloyd Nedlloyd was a Dutch shipping company, formed in 1970 as the result of a merger of several shipping lines: *Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland (SMN) *Koninklijke Rotterdamsche Lloyd (KRL) *Koninklijke Java-China-Paketvaart-Lijnen (KJCPL) *Vereen ...

. On 15 February 1989 the ship was lost in heavy weather near the port of

Skikda Skikda (; formerly Philippeville from 1838 to 1962 and Rusicade in ancient times) is a city in northeastern Algeria and a port on the Mediterranean. It is the capital of Skikda Province and Skikda District. History The Phoenicians and Carthagi ...

, Algeria. Two sailors, who were swept overboard when they tried to work on the anchor, survived the incident. The other 27 crew were killed. For his actions in trying to rescue the ship and crew, first officer Peter Korsen was posthumously promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. The shipwreck was the single most serious shipping disaster for a Dutch-flagged vessel since the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Wreck

The ship was empty and with a minimum amount of ballast lie for anchor for the port of

when bad weather and high winds were expected. When the wind reached force 10 on the

Beaufort scale The Beaufort scale ( ) is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort wind force scale. It was devised in 1805 by Francis Beaufort a hydrographer in the Royal Navy. It ...

the ship pulled loose from her anchors and smashed against the piers of the harbour. As ''Maassluis'' was expected to enter the port of Skikda the next day to load the captain dropped her anchor very close to the head of the pier of the port. Also because she would enter the port the next morning to load up the ship was empty and her ballast tanks were also (nearly) empty. During the evening a fierce storm broke out and waves reached a height of . The wind reached a force of 10 Beaufort and was directed inland.W8 website
Around 23:00 hours the captain, with help from the first officer, started the engines and tried to sail free from the pierhead using full power. Two sailors were sent forward to raise the anchor so the ship would be able to sail away from the shore. These two sailors were swept overboard by the wind and waves but managed to reach the shore with minor wounds. These two sailors were the only survivors of the disaster. Despite using full engine-power the ''Maassluis'' was not able to move free from the piers and around 23:30 the ship came into contact with the piers and broke up. Of the 27 people that lost their live the remains of only four were recovered. The other 23 were never found.

Sources

{{1989 shipwrecks Maritime incidents in 1989 Oil tankers 1982 ships