Varne sandbar
The Varne Sandbank (English Varne Bank , also The Varne ) is a nine kilometer long sandbank belonging to England in the Strait of Dover about 14 km southwest of Dover. The water depth at low tide is between 3 and 5 meters.
Shipping obstruction
Due to its location almost in the middle of the south-west passage of the English Channel , the sandbar is important for both the British Coast Guard and shipping. Because of the high risk of getting stuck , the British beacon authority Trinity House operates an unmanned lightship on the sandbank. The amateur radio association ARLHS lists the Varne lightship as ARLHS ENG-270 in its worldwide lighthouse and lightship directory World List of Lights .
Despite the lightship and illuminated warning buoys in the west, east and south, ships repeatedly hit the sandbank, for example the German container ship LT Cortesia , which ran aground on January 2, 2008. The official accident report shows how the misinterpretation of the radar image led to the accident. Since the Varne sandbar is less well known than the Goodwin sandbar further north, ship strandings on the Varne sandbar are often incorrectly reported as being stranded on the Goodwin sandbar.
The German submarine UB 33 ran in April 1918 southwest of the Varne sandbank on a mine in the British Dover lock ; the wreck still contains six live torpedoes and still poses a significant threat to shipping.
Due to the steady increase in shipping traffic through the English Channel, the busiest shipping lane in the world, various proposals have been made over time to remove the Varne sandbar by dredging. However, due to its shallow depth, it is a productive location for fishing, especially for cod and scallops .
History
In 1802, mining engineer Albert Mathieu proposed to convert the Varne sandbank into an island in order to create a middle station (carriage horse exchange point) for a canal tunnel. In the 20th century the draft of an English Channel bridge was conceived, the supporting pillars of which were to stand on the Varne sandbank.
Several naval battles and skirmishes took place nearby, including the Naval Battle of Dover in 1652 and the Second Naval Battle of the Strait of Dover in April 1917.
various
The British shipyard Varne Marine ( Essex ) was a yacht manufacturer from 1973 to 1992 with reference to the Varne sandbank in the company name. The company produced the Varne 27 and other models. A Varne Shipowners Association Varne Owners Association publishes a club magazine called 'LightShip', named for the Varne lightship that marks the shallows of the Varne sandbank.
Individual evidence
- ^ World List of Lights. Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society, accessed December 13, 2009 .
- ↑ Investigation report 01/08 - PDF 2.4 MB. Federal Bureau of Maritime Casualty Investigation, accessed on December 13, 2009 (German).
Coordinates: 50 ° 59 ′ 18.1 ″ N , 1 ° 19 ′ 19.7 ″ E