Admin I Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023
BERLIN -In a recent incident in the North Sea near the Helgoland archipelago, the search for four missing seamen following a collision between two cargo ships has been temporarily halted.
A spokesperson for the German Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (CCME) made the announcement, citing deteriorating weather conditions during the night. Two seamen from the Verity were successfully rescued, but one could only be recovered after they had passed. Fortunately, the 22 crew members of the Polesie remained unharmed.
The collision occurred at approximately 5 am (0300 GMT) on Tuesday, roughly 22 kilometers southwest of the island of Helgoland and 31 kilometers northeast of the island of Langeoog, within a busy shipping area. The circumstances surrounding the collision remain unclear.
Numerous rescue vessels from the German Maritime Search and Rescue Service (DGzRS) and other official ships diligently searched for the missing seamen.
The 91-meter-long Verity, flying the British flag, was carrying large rolls of metal sheets. The vessel, owned by the British-Dutch shipping company Faversham Ships, was en route from Bremen to Immingham, a port on the English North Sea coast.
The other involved freighter, the larger Polesie measuring 190 meters, was sailing under the flag of the Bahamas from Hamburg to La Coruña in Spain. Fortunately, the Polesie managed to return to Cuxhaven under its own power.