Two people have been injured and Australia’s largest sail training ship has been largely destroyed in a collision in an Australian port.
Photos from the STS Leeuwin II show the ship was badly damaged after colliding with the container ship Maersk Shekou in the Port of Fremantle in the early hours of Friday morning.
St John WA confirmed that three crew members attended the incident at around 6.20am and treated two people who were on board STS Leeuwin II at the time.
A man in his 20s and a man in his 60s were taken to Fiona Stanley Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, The West reports.
One man is believed to have a broken arm.
According to the ABC, the container ship was hit by a “sudden storm” as it entered the port.
A caller to 6PR said he saw the large ship in pieces while en route to Rottnest Island, The West reported.
“The Leeuwin is completely destroyed,” he said.
Photos of the STS Leeuwin II show the ship was badly damaged after it collided with the container ship Maersk Shekou early Friday morning in Fremantle Port
The STS Leeuwin is a large ship owned and operated by the youth development organization Leeuwin Ocean Adventure Foundation. The three-masted 1850s style ship is used to train young people in the use of sails
‘Not a single mast is standing, the ship is listing and leaning to port.’
‘That container ship entered the port and collided with De Leeuwin.
“They dropped the anchor to stop it and now they can’t get the anchor up. It must be stuck on the bottom.”
A Port of Fremantle spokesman said the Shekou is now under the control of tug operators.
The STS Leeuwin is a large sailing ship owned and operated by the Leeuwin Ocean Adventure Foundation, which is committed to youth development.
The three-masted ship from 1850 is used to teach young people to sail.