2023 Heligoland ship collision

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The Polesie in 2016
The Verity in 2020

On 24 October 2023, one person was killed and four others disappeared after two cargo ships, the British-flagged Verity (2,601 tonnes, 91 meters)[1] and the Bahamian-flagged Polesie (24,055 tonnes, 190 meters),[2] collided in the North Sea near Germany's Heligoland islands, with the Verity sinking.[3][4]

Background[edit]

The Verity was on its way to the UK, carrying steel from the northern German city of Bremen to Immingham in Lincolnshire, England, when it collided with the Polesie, which had departed from Hamburg, northern Germany, on a journey to La Coruña in northwestern Spain.[5] Authorities mentioned strong winds in the area.[6] The Verity belongs to the British-Dutch shipping company Faversham Ships;[7] the Polesie is owned and operated by to the Polish shipping company Polsteam Group, which is based in Szczecin.[7]

Search[edit]

P&O Cruises confirmed that a ship in their fleet, the Iona, had been in the area and was involved in the subsequent search.[8] None of the 22 crew on the Polesie was reportedly injured.[9] The German Central Command for Maritime Emergencies, which deployed two sea rescue cruisers and coordinated a German Navy helicopter and a water police boat,[10] rescued two survivors.[11] One of the Verity's crew was found dead in the water; the remaining four of an original total of seven crew are missing. A search was called off the next day.[10]

The DGzRS sent the SAR-cruisers Hermann Marwede (Station Heligoland) and Bernhard Gruben (Station Hooksiel). The Federal emergency tug Nordic, and the pilot tender Wangerooge, as well as the water police boat Sylt and a SAR helicopter from the German Navy were involved in the SAR operation.[12] The P&O cruise liner Iona spent the day and night scouring the sea off the north German coast for the missing crew.[13]

The sea area where the missing sailors might be was searched during the night of 25th of October without success, and rescuers then stopped the search.[14]

A remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) was lowered to the wreck of the Verity to search for signs of life from the missing sailors. For a while after the sinking there was considered to be a possibility that sailors could be in an air bubble in the ship and still be alive.[15]

The Polesie was able to reach the German Port of Cuxhaven under its own steam.[14]

Investigation[edit]

The cause of the collision is not publicly known. The German Federal Bureau for Maritime Casualty Investigation (Bundesstelle für Seeunfalluntersuchung, BSU) in Hamburg began investigating the cause of the accident. The BSU says it is a "very serious maritime accident" and that the investigation is being conducted together with the freighters' two flag states - Bahamas and Great Britain. On 25 October it was reported that the responsible maritime accident investigation authority in Great Britain, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch, was taking over the management of the joint investigation; the general manager of the Association of German Shipowners [de], Martin Kröger, stated that it is "far too early to say what was the cause of the accident".[16]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "VERITY General Cargo Ship, IMO 9229178". www.vesselfinder.com. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  2. ^ "POLESIE Bulk Carrier, IMO 9488097". www.vesselfinder.com. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  3. ^ Davies, Caroline (2023-10-24). "One dead and four missing after British cargo ship sinks in North Sea". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  4. ^ "One dead after ships collide in North Sea". BBC News. 2023-10-24. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  5. ^ "Germany: North Sea ship collision leaves 1 dead, 4 missing – DW – 10/24/2023". dw.com. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  6. ^ "One dead, four missing after freighters collide in North Sea". Reuters. 2023-10-24. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  7. ^ a b "Schiffsunglück in der Nordsee bei Helgoland: Diese beiden Schiff sind kollidiert" [Ship accident in the North Sea near Heligoland: These two ships collided]. www.t-online.de (in German). 2023-10-24. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  8. ^ "Body recovered and two rescued after British cargo ship sinks - four people are still missing". Isle of Wight Radio. Retrieved 2023-10-24.[dead link]
  9. ^ "One dead after ships collide in North Sea". BBC News. 2023-10-24. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  10. ^ a b "North Sea search abandoned for four missing on British ship Verity". www.bbc.com. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  11. ^ "One dead and four missing after cargo ship sinks in North Sea". STV. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  12. ^ "Nach einer schweren Schiffskollision: Frachtschiff Verity in der Nordsee gesunken" [After a serious ship collision: cargo ship Verity sank in the North Sea]. www.kreiszeitung.de (in German). 2023-10-26. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  13. ^ Jones, Sam (2023-10-24). "British cargo ship Verity sinks after North Sea collision". Financial Times. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  14. ^ a b "German authorities say there's no hope for 4 missing sailors after North Sea ship collision". AP News. 2023-10-25. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  15. ^ tagesschau.de. "Bremen: Schiffsunfall: Havariekommando geht vom Tod vermisster Seeleute aus" [Bremen: Ship accident: accident command assumes the deaths of missing sailors]. tagesschau.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  16. ^ "Was wissen wir zum tödlichen Frachter-Unglück bei Helgoland?" [What do we know about the fatal freighter accident near Heligoland?]. Der Spiegel (in German). 2023-10-25. ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Category:Verity (ship, 2001).
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Category:Polesie (ship, 2009).
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