Accidents
The search for four shipwrecked people in the North Sea continues
Robby Renner (r), head of the accident command, and Michael Ippich from the German Society for the Rescue of Shipwrecked People at a press conference after the collision of two freighters in the North Sea. photo
© Sina Schuldt/dpa
Two freighters collide in the North Sea. A dramatic search operation begins. Four people are still missing. For the rescuers it is a race against time – in adverse weather conditions.
The search for four missing sailors after the collision of two cargo ships on the The North Sea near Helgoland should also continue at night. “The plan is to continue the search until after midnight,” said the accident command in Cuxhaven on Tuesday evening. “The water temperatures, which are currently around 12 degrees Celsius, give the rescue workers the chance of finding survivors up to this point.” If there are still no signs of life from the four castaways, the search should be stopped.
After one of the freighters sank as a result of the collision on Tuesday morning, rescue workers were able to rescue two sailors from the water. Any help came too late for a sailor. Four people from the seven-person crew of the freighter “Verity” are still missing.
Nobody knows how the missing sailors are equipped, said DGzRS managing director Ippich. People are repeatedly found alive in cold water, even after a long time. According to the sea rescuers, based on experience, people could survive for up to 20 hours in water temperatures of around twelve degrees – but it also depends on the condition and clothing, such as a life jacket, of the injured person.
Search in complete darkness
Three sea rescue cruisers from the German Society for the Rescue of Shipwrecked People (DGzRS) continue to search for the missing people in complete darkness. A federal police ship, a customs boat, a water police ship and a pilot tender were also still in use, the accident command announced in the evening. They use thermal imaging cameras and night vision devices in their search.
According to the authority, the German Navy is also participating with three helicopters, the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency with a research vessel and the Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration with a multi-purpose vessel.
Divers had previously searched for signs of life on the wreckage of the freighter “Verity”, which sank as a result of the collision, at a depth of around 30 meters – without success. A strong current that set in initially made further attempts impossible, it was said.
According to the accident command, the conditions at the scene of the accident remain difficult. “The wind is blowing at around five to six strengths, the wave heights are between one and two meters,” the authorities in Cuxhaven said.
The cause of the accident remains unclear
However, it remains unclear why the bulk carrier “Polesie” and the coaster “Verity” collided in complete darkness in the German Bight. Photos from the scene of the accident showed how beams of light from the searchlights of the cruise ship “Iona”, which happened to be traveling nearby, scanned the dark water surface at the scene of the accident shortly after the accident early in the morning.
At around 5:20 a.m. the “Verity” signal was lost, said Michael Ippich from the DGzRS management. “One had to assume that the ship sank at that point.” A good hour later, the first sea rescue cruiser from Heligoland was at the scene of the accident. Shortly afterwards the first pieces of wreckage were found.
According to the accident command, the 91 meter long “Verity”, which was flying the British flag, was loaded with so-called steel coils, i.e. rolls made of large sheets of metal. The ship from the British-Dutch shipping company Faversham Ships was on its way from Bremen to Immingham, a port on the English North Sea coast. It also had around 1300 cubic meters of diesel fuel on board. That’s why a multi-purpose ship was deployed to the scene of the accident in order to be able to collect any fuel that might have leaked from the water.
The other freighter, the larger “Polesie” with a length of 190 meters, was flying the Bahamas flag on its way from Hamburg to La Coruña in Spain. 22 sailors were on board the freighter, which belongs to the Polish shipping company Polsteam Group. They were all uninjured, as the accident command confirmed on Tuesday evening. The freighter is scheduled to arrive in Cuxhaven under its own power during the night.
Most trafficked sea area
The accident occurred around 22 kilometers southwest of the offshore island of Heligoland and 31 kilometers northeast of the East Frisian island of Langeoog – in one of the busiest sea areas in the world. According to the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH), two internationally established shipping routes run in an east-west direction in the German Bight.
These are the Terschelling-German Bight traffic separation area (VTG) off the East Frisian Islands and the German Bight Western Approach traffic separation area further north. Ship traffic runs across the two traffic separation areas to the German river basins Ems, Jade/Weser and Elbe as well as to the offshore wind farms in the German North Sea.