A search is underway after a British-flagged cargo ship sank in the North Sea following a collision with a bulk carrier with at least six people thought missing.
The British general cargo ship Verity is reported to have been lost off the coast of Helgoland, an island off Germany and Denmark in the North Sea, following a collision with the Bahamas-flagged Polesie. According to the German newspaper Bild, citing sources in the national accident command reports six people are presently thought missing.
One person has been pulled from the water, but rescue efforts are being hampered by the weather conditions locally, which is experiencing high wind and waves.
Publicly available data from the Verity’s Automatic Information System, a legally mandated safety and navigation device fitted to all large seagoing ships, the vessel last was able to report its position around 0300 local time. According to its filed plan, it was eight hours out of the port of Bremen in Germany and headed to the British port of Immingham.
It is said to have collided with the bulk carrier Polesie, a considerably larger ship, overnight. The Polesie is still afloat and, again according to AIS data, has remained in the area and may be assisting with the search.
Other ships that have come to the aid of the lost Verity include two coastguard vessels and an ocean liner, which are being assisted by a helicopter.
The Verity was previously involved in a maritime incident in 2006 when its engine failed off the south British coast in rough weather. Two RNLI lifeboats and a Dutch warship were engaged in a 34-hour fight to save the ship — which was carrying 3,000 tons of scrap metal — by towing it away from the coast.
This story is developing and more follows.
