In the aftermath of the recent catastrophic failure of the AquaDom aquarium in Berlin’s Radisson Blu hotel, former owner of Schuran Seawater Equipment Hermann Schuran has reportedly “weighed-in”, claiming the tank was a ‘ticking time bomb’ and the accident should have been predicted.
Mr Shuran said it does not surprise him that the tank shattered on December 16 and that it should have been clearly stated that the aquarium would only be able to last until a certain point. Mr Schuran is said to have claimed he was asked for a quote to build the aquarium but decided not to go ahead with it, noting that it was too large and he could not say for sure how long it would survive. Mr Schuran said the blame falls on those who built it, adding that it should have been inspected every two years. ‘Otherwise, there is negligence,’ he reportedly said.
Reynolds Polymer Technology, based in the US, which states on its website that 41 of its acrylic panels were used in building the tank cylinder, said it ‘offers its sincere concern’ to the hotel guests and workers who were affected and to those who were injured. It said that they are also ‘deeply saddened by the animals and aquatic life lost’.
There was speculation that freezing temperatures dropping down to -10C (14F) overnight caused a crack in the acrylic glass tank, which then exploded under the weight of the water.
While the local government said that nearly all of the 1,500 fish that were inside at the time of the rupture died, ‘a few fish at the bottom of the tank’ were saved. Around 400 to 500 mostly small fish from a separate set of aquariums housed under the hotel lobby were also evacuated to a neighbouring aquarium that was unaffected.