A general cargo ship has sunk following a collision of two vessels some 22 kilometres southwest of the island Heligoland in the German North Sea.
Germany’s Central Command for Maritime Emergencies said that the 2001-built, 3,360-dwt general cargo ship Verity sunk after colliding with the 2009-built, 38,069-dwt bulk carrier Polesie which is still buoyant and has 22 people on board.
The collision happened early around 5 am local time. The German Command rescued two men from the water and provided medical care. One fatality has been confirmed. Four of the seven people that were on board are still missing. According to the Command, a number of ships are searching for the shipwreck.
Currently involved in the search are the sea rescue cruisers Hermann Marwede and Bernhard Gruben of the German Society for the Rescue of Shipwrecked Persons, the emergency tug Nordic, the pilot tender Wangerooge, the water police boat Sylt, and a SAR helicopter Sea King of the German Navy.
The sea rescue cruiser Anneliese Kramer is also on the way to the scene of the accident along with the Atair of the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency, the multi-purpose ship Mellum of the Waterways and Shipping Administration, and the water police boat W 3.
The DO228 sensor aircraft flew over the sea area to obtain further information. The cruise ship Iona, owned by P&O Cruises, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation, is also in the sea area and is supporting the search so that anyone rescued can receive medical care on board the cruiser. The Command is bringing additional medical personnel to the scene of the accident by helicopter.
It is worth noting that the Verity was on its way from Bremen to Immingham in Great Britain while the Polesie was travelling from Hamburg to La Coruña in Spain.
This one is going to open up a whole can of Colregs worms, since it touches on the definition of in extremis and actions of the stand-on vessel. Have seen many news from all kinds of news joints , all reporting more or less the same thing. But none has mentioned or indicated, what was the condition of visibility before the incident and during the incident. Do not understand why ,as in the most immediate proximity of the collision site was pax/cruise ship and other ships and surely all had at least some idea about visibility conditions. Think , this matter should be worth investigating and finding out first.