LA- PRIMAVERA
Die letzten Häfen
Die letzten Wegpunkte
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Owner and helmswoman must pay €1.7 million to the Federal Republic of Germany
2,5 years after the 'La Primavera' allided with the Rhine lock in Iffezheim, the owner and the helmswoman must pay €1.7 million to the Federal Republic of Germany. This was decided by the Kehl District Court in Baden-Württemberg, which acted as the Rhine Shipping Court, according to a statement released on June 4, 2026. The helmswoman was charged and sentenced in November 2024 to a five-month suspended sentence. The court found her guilty of negligent endangerment of shipping. It determined that she slept at the helm for at least 20 minutes during her watch, until the vessel crashed into the lock gate. The conviction has already been upheld on appeal, the district court announced. On June 4, the court heard a separate case. The Federal Republic of Germany, as the owner of the lock, was suing for €4 million in damages. The company and the female helmswoman will not have to pay that much, the court ruled. Inland navigation law provides for a limitation of liability, based on the type and size of the vessel. Only in exceptional cases are the owner and crew liable beyond this limit, for example, if the damage is the result of negligence. This was not the case here. The fact that the helmswoman drank alcohol the night before the accident did not change this. The district court dismissed a lawsuit against the captain, who was below deck during the accident. The man was not obligated to distrust the helmswoman. An appeal against the ruling can be made to the Higher Rhine Navigation Court in Karlsruhe or to the Multinational Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine in Strasbourg.
First hearing in civil case in Kehl
The first hearing in the civil case against the captain-owner of the 'La Primavera' took place at the Rhine Shipping Court in Kehl after the alision with the lock gate in Iffezheim on the Rhine in Nov 2023, enroute from Basel to Karlsruhe, causing millions in damages and the lock chamber being out of service for a year. The Federal Republic of Germany wasnow claiming €4 million from the owner for the damages. The first hearing focused again on the Polish helmswoman, who was questioned for hours. She had fallen asleep while sailing, according to the prosecutor's office, because she had been drinking too much. She allegedly slept for an hour while the ship was sailing on autopilot. The woman herself stated that she had drunk a little, but not too much. She reportedly had another glass of wine after the allision to calm down. The woman had previously been convicted of causing the allision and was fined €2,250 in Nov 2025. Initially, in Nov 2024, she received a five-month suspended prison sentence due to recidivism. However, during the appeal hearing in Nov 2025, the statute of limitations had expired, so she was granted a fine. The judge also said she would take into account that she had lost her job and now required financial support from her family. The next hearing has yet to be scheduled.
Helmswoman again at Kehl District Court
The helmswoman of the 'Primavera' who had slammed into the Iffezheim lock while being drunk on Nov 11, 2023, will have to appear again in court at the Kehl District Court, along with the owner and the ship's captain, in a civil lawsuit. The Federal Republic of Germany, as the owner of the Rhine lock, is demanding €4 million in damages. The trial was due to start on Jan 29, 2026, at 2 p.m.. The 51-year-old Polish woman was already sentenced to five months' probation one year after the accident.
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