© 2024 SDPB Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

WATCH: Giant Container Ship Collides With Hong Kong Park

Such are the hazards of living in a city that is also home to one of the world's busiest ports ...

Joggers are used to dodging bikers, skateboarders and even stray animals. But if you'd happened to be running on a popular path at the Stanley Ho Sports Center in Hong Kong's Pok Fu Lam district on Sunday, you might have come close to hitting a 633-foot container ship.

The German-registered Hansa Constitution, fully laden with containers, ran aground near the path, startling onlookers. Several people shot video, including the one above, where you can clearly see the ship's starboard anchor dropping in an apparent effort to slow its momentum just before the bulbous bow makes contact with the bottom.

The South China Morning Post quotes a spokesman for Hansa Treuhand Gruppe, the vessel's owner, who said the accident could have been caused by a loss of power. A loss of power could also have resulted in a loss of steering.

No one was hurt, and the Hansa Constitution was quickly removed from the beach by a pair of tow boats. The extent of the damage was unknown, but as of this writing, the ship was at sea about 100 miles east of Hong Kong.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Scott Neuman is a reporter and editor, working mainly on breaking news for NPR's digital and radio platforms.