Russian Sailboat Rams Icelandic Coast Guard Ships

A Russian sailboat, departing from Reykjavík harbour, accidentally rammed not one but two Icelandic Coast Guard ships, causing very minor damage.

RÚV reports that STS Kruzenshtern, which has been docked in Reykjavík Harbour for the past few days, was on its way out when it ran into trouble. Specifically, two Icelandic Coast Guard ships, Þór and Týr.

Here you can watch a video of the collision take place.

While the collision was powerful enough to move both Icelandic Coast Guard vessels, damage was apparently very minimal, amounting to little more than scratches and streaked paint on the hull of the ships. Not to make little of the Kruzenshtern, though, which itself weighs 6,400 tonnes and is 114 metres long.

The Kruzenshtern is a Russian ship, but it was built in Bremerhaven, Germany in 1926, hence the German name. In 1946, it was handed over to the Soviet Union as a part of war reparations. Today, the ship employs volunteer sailors hoping for the chance to learn how to be a crew member on an old school four-masted barque.