As of: October 27, 2023 9:16 p.m
After the shipwreck in the North Sea, salvage and safety work will be suspended at the weekend. The reason is bad weather. The wreckage of the sunken freighter “Verity” lies at a depth of 30 meters.
The multi-purpose ship “Mellum” set up a black, red and black cardinal buoy at the scene of the accident on Thursday afternoon. The barrel, which is illuminated at night, indicates the sunken ship. The traffic center of the responsible waterways and shipping office Weser-Jade-Nordsee in Wilhelmshaven is monitoring the area, it said.
The masts of the “Verity” are to be cut
No further rescue or safety work is planned for Friday and the weekend, said a spokeswoman for the General Directorate of Waterways and Shipping in Bonn on Friday. The reason is the strong wind and significant waves. As soon as the weather conditions have calmed down, a diving mission is planned for the beginning of next week. Then the two masts of the “Verity” will be shortened to increase the water depth over the wreck and thus protect the ships on one of the busiest shipping routes in the world
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Salvage talks are ongoing
It is still unclear what will happen to the wreck of the “Verity”. A so-called rescue order is being worked on. To this end, the responsible waterways and shipping authority is in discussions with the shipping company of “Verity”, the British-Dutch Faversham Ships.
Five sailors were killed
The collision of the two freighters “Verity” and ““Polesie” occurred on Tuesday morning around 22 kilometers southwest of the offshore island of Heligoland. The authorities assume that five sailors died in the accident. How the collision came about is unclear. Both the German Federal Office for Maritime Casualty Investigation (BSU) in Hamburg and the Hamburg public prosecutor’s office are investigating. In addition, a German-British team of experts began their work on Thursday.
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