36 years after the catastrophic sinking of "Bürgermeister O´Swald" at "Elbe 1", in the hurricane night of the 4th of December 1999, the un-manned lightship "FS2" sank aproximately 13 nautical miles south east of Helgoland. The light ship, operated by WSA Wilhelmshaven, could not withstand the westerly storm of force 10 gusting to force 11 and drifted, still attached to its anchor chain and with its keel upwards. Around midnight traffic control Cuxhaven registered the loss of the remote operation of the light vessel. At sun rise passing ships confirmed the accident of the Elbe. Strong seas and persistent storm initially made salvage impossible. Only nine days later, the 26 m long ship was released from its anchor chains and towed by the WSA flag ship "Mellum" to "Tankreede Süd" in the calmer waters of the Jade. During the night the sees calmed enough to allow divers to check the valves of FS2 and then attach steel cables. On the 14th of December 1999 at about 10 AM, the specially procured floating crane "Thor" - one of the strongest on this coast - righted the light vessel without problems in the first attempt. "Mellum" and the tug "Bugsier 8" completed the salvage and took the light ship to the buoy depot of WSA Wilhelmshaven. Due to the extensive damage (the light tower hat been touching ground for ten day, the electrics and measuring gear were useless) a repair was deemed unjustifiable. "UFS Elbe was withdrawn" the "notice to mariners" from the WSA Cuxhaven stated on the 31st of March 2000 in a succinct note. A red and white buoy with a ball top mark now replaces the light ship. "There is no requirement any longer" stated the building director Bernhard Meyer, head of the WSA Cuxhaven. In the view of the authority, the now deployed buoy satisfies the requirement. Also, the Bundesamt für Seeschiffahrt und Hydrographie (BSH) - the Hydrographic Institute - does not require the same level of measurements any longer, which had been supplied by the light vessel's measuring instruments. And the space provided for ship wrecked personnel had never been used. In 2005 the ship was scrapped. After the accident of FS2 in the hurrican night of the 4th of December 1999 at the position "ELBE", unmanned lightships are now only deployed at the following stations at German Bight:

1. Station "GW/EMS" (German Waterway) previously "TW/EMS" Position: 54°10,00' N, 6°20,80' E
2. Station "GB" (German Bight) previously "Deutsche Bucht" Position: 54°10,82' N, 7°27,60' E

Sources: Wilhelmshavener Zeitung, Schifffahrt international

Many, many thanks to Mr. von Ostheim of WSA Wilhelmshaven for his friendly support.

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