Die Küste, 81 (2014), 255-271 
265 
Container, container parts and wood piles were observed over ten days from ships 
and aircrafts. They were monitored by radar, accompanied by ship and - if possible - 
salvaged. 
In die morning container and flotsam have been reported in a positions south-west of 
the accident location. This was about four hours after the average and pictures of some 
connected containers were made (see Fig. 4). 
Figure 4: Container package observed at position 54° 18,06’ N, 007° 13,30’ E on 06.01.2012 at 
09:36 UTC (the picture was kindly provided by the crew of the ETV Nordic). 
The distance between some container packages was already more than V 2 nm. Whether 
the containers have been lost subsequently or whether processes like water turbulence or 
different flotage led to this separation is hard to tell. In die afternoon and evening of 
06.01.2012 more observations have been made finding containers or remaining of con 
tainers respectively their content in direction WNW, SW and SE of die accident location. 
Since it is not possible to distinguish containers in these observations, it is not clear, 
whetiier die containers were observed several times or if each time different containers 
were found. Very valuable observations were made by die ship GS Neuwerk in the even 
ing of 06.01.2012, when a container package was plotted by die ship radar for about 
6 hours (see Tab. 1). Within diis period we compare the drift simulations witii tiiese ob 
servations (see below). 
About 33 h after the accident (afternoon 07.01.2012) an overflight sighted a container 
and a container package being about 8 nm apart. Probably the same objects were ob 
served later SW-wards witii a distance of about 13 nm apart from each otiier (SW-wards