Distressed passenger ship salvaged in German North Sea

A salvage tug and two maritime rescue vessels were mobilised on 13 June 2026 to assist and tow a passenger vessel that had lost power while sailing to an island in the North Sea.

68-m passenger vessel Funny Girl, carrying around 70 people, was sailing from Büsum on the north German coast to the island of Helgoland when its propulsion failed and it started drifting in westerly winds up to Beaufort 7 and a waves of up to 3 m.

Maritime rescue vessel Bremen, search and rescue vessel Hermann Marwede, federal police vessel Bad Düben and salvage tug Nordic, operated by Fairplay Towage, were despatched to assist the casualty. 

Bremen, operated by Die Seenotretter – DGzRS, co-ordinated the response, while DGzRS operated Hermann Marwede secured the drifting vessel.

According to Fairplay, Nordic took over the tow to Außenelbe-Reede, on the German coast, escorted by Hermann Marwede for safety reasons.

After passengers were disembarked, 1973-built, 1,017-gt Funny Girl was handed to a company-contracted tug for the passage into Cuxhaven for repairs.

“All 70 people on board remained safe throughout,” said Fairplay.

“Operations like this are part of daily life in the German Bight and a clear case for having experienced, position-ready assets in the area.”

Fairplay operates tugs and specialist vessels in 24 European ports and continues to invest in its fleet with newbuilds built by Daman Shipyards.