Cargo ship collides with Ministry of Defence vessel

A cargo ship hit a Ministry of Defence vessel in Cornwall this morning.

Officers were called to Falmouth at around 8am where a cargo ship ran aground after crashing into an MoD contracted vessel that was secured to the fixed pontoon. 

The cargo ship was identified as the ‘Smit Yare’ – a range safety and training vessel run by Smit International, under contract with MoD. 

There are no injuries reported so far following the incident at County Wharf, Falmouth docks.

Royal Navy campaign group NavyLookout claims the cargo vessel was Danish chemical tanker ‘MV Else Marie Theresa’, though neither the MoD or police have confirmed this. 

A Devon & Cornwall Police spokesman had MailOnline police were called to County Wharf, Falmouth docks, at around 8am this morning with a report that a ship had run aground.  

They said that a cargo ship crashed into a Royal Navy vessel and ‘ran well aground’, and officers were now conducting enquiries.

Officers have now sent an updated statement, which confirms the vessel was not a Royal Navy vessel, but an MOD contracted one. 

The statement reads: ‘Police were called to County Wharf, Falmouth docks, at around 8am this morning with a report that a ship had run aground.

‘No injuries have been reported.

‘A cargo ship crashed into the ‘Smit Yare’, an MoD contracted vessel (from Boskalis) which operates in Falmouth Bay to support RNAS Culdrose’s flying operations. 

‘The vessel was secured to the fixed pontoon at the time a commercial tanker collided with it and ran aground.

Officers were called to Falmouth at around 8am where a cargo ship crashed into a Royal Navy vessel, police say (pictured: Falmouth harbour) 

‘Police have been at the scene this morning carrying out enquiries.’

In 2018 a major deal to support and supply range safety and aircrew training vessels to the Ministry of Defence was signed.

The £39million, seven-year contract has the aim of providing range safety patrol vessels at military firing ranges – with river and coastal boundaries – and marine support to tri-service aircrew training across the MOD, the ministry said.

Initially the contract is set to run until March 2023, with an option to extend and provide for helicopter training, sea survival drills, target-towing, fast-attack craft simulations and range safety. 

‘This supports the operational readiness of military personnel across all three Services,’ the MOD said at the time.

The Smit Yare is one of four purpose-built aircrew training workboats, 27 metres in length, 19 knots with 12 passengers plus four instructors and a crew of six. 

The other three are the Smit Don, Smit Dee, and Smit Spey.