Handout picture dated 2021 and released on October 24, 2023 by the “Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbrüchiger (DGzRS, German Maritime Search and Rescue Service) shows sea rescue cruiser ship Bernhard Gruben of the DGzRS station in Hooksiel, northern Germany, that is used among others after a collision between two cargo ships in the North Sea, southwest of the island of Helgoland, Germany. Several people are missing after a collision between two cargo ships in the North Sea, one of which is believed to have sunk, German authorities said on October 24, 2023. (Photo by Frank KAHL / Die Seenotretter – DGzRS / AFP)
BERLIN, Germany – One person has died, four are missing from the crew of a cargo ship that sank after colliding with another vessel in the North Sea, German authorities said on Tuesday.
Two other crew members from the ship were rescued after the collision with a second cargo vessel early on Tuesday, German Sea Rescue Society (DGzRS) spokesman Christian Stipeldey said.
The accident happened about 22 kilometres (13 miles) southwest of the island of Helgoland, according to the German Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (CCME).
Several ships are currently involved in a rescue operation in the area, the agency said.
The sunken ship was named as the Verity, sailing under a British flag and on its way from Bremen to the UK town of Immingham.
The other ship was the Polesie, under a Bahamas flag and traveling from Hamburg to La Coruna in Spain.
Rescue operation
The Polesie is owned by the Polish shipping company Polsteam.
Krzysztof Gogol, a spokesman for Polsteam, confirmed there were 22 crew members on board and said they were uninjured and in “good physical condition”.
Shortly after the collision, the Polesie ship stopped and took part in the search and rescue operation, Gogol said.
The vessel “took on board one of the crew members of the Verity ship, a Filipino sailor”, he said.
A P&O cruise ship that was in the area, the IONA, has also been involved in the rescue operation, according to the CCME.
Helicopters were also involved.
The search was taking place amid “relatively challenging weather conditions”, Stipeldey said.
The CCME reported winds of six on the Beaufort scale and waves reaching as high as three meters.
The accident comes weeks after a ship with hundreds of electric cars on board caught fire in the North Sea off the coast of the Netherlands.
The Verity, owned by the British company Faversham, was the smaller vessel with a length of 91 metres (almost 300 feet), compared to the Polesie’s 190 metres.
The Polesie was still afloat with 22 people on board, the CCME said.
“The emergency services are doing everything they can to rescue the missing people,” German Transport Minister Volker Wissing said in a statement.
“My thoughts are with the crew members, their relatives and the rescue teams who have been in action since early this morning.”
Two rescue cruisers, an emergency tug, a pilot boat, a police patrol boat and a helicopter were helping with the search, according to the CCME.
“We will not stop the search and rescue operation as long as there is still a small chance of finding survivors,” DGzRS spokesman Stipeldey said.