A dead body has been recovered and two people have been rescued after two cargo ships collided off the coast of Germany – with a British vessel sinking.
The ships, Polesie and Verity, collided at around 5am about 14 miles southwest of the island of Heligoland, Germany’s Central Command for Maritime Emergencies said.
Seven people were aboard the 91m (300ft) British-flagged Verity, and a search is ongoing for four people who remain missing.
Image:
The Polesie (left) and the Verity shown on ship tracking software. Pic: MarineTraffic.
The two people rescued from the sea have been transferred to hospital and are reported to be doing well.
The Verity was heading from Bremen to the English port of Immingham at the time of the incident.
The other ship, the Bahamas-flagged Polesie, was en route from Hamburg to Spain – and remained afloat with 22 people onboard.
The Isle of Man Ship Registry has said the incident occurred in an area of the sea known as German Blight, south west of the island of Heligoland.
Data from MarineTraffic shows that the two ships first came close to each other at around 2.57 UTC (3.57am UK time) and again at 3.45 UTC (4.57am UK time).
The German Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre received the alarm just before 5.00 UTC (6.00am UK time) and launched a search and rescue operation immediately.
The ship registry has passed “heartfelt thanks” to the six German rescue boats involved in the ongoing search efforts.
The Iona P&O cruise ship – based out of Southampton – was bound for Rotterdam but paused in the vicinity of Verity’s last-known location to help with the rescue effort.
The image below, taken from MarineTraffic, shows the two ships which collided and the Iona in the area.
– this one shows the two boats and also the Iona cruise
A P&O Cruises spokesperson confirmed its ship is involved in the search and rescue operation.
The spokesperson added: “The incident is ongoing and Iona’s cooperation complies with international maritime law as well as being consistent with the company’s moral and legal obligations.
“Iona is scheduled to be at sea today and this event should have no impact upon tomorrow’s scheduled call to Rotterdam or the onward itinerary.”
The cruise ship has doctors on board and could treat people if needed, the emergency command said – and more medical personnel are heading to the scene in helicopters.
