Distress at sea: Ship collision in German Bight - search for missing persons suspended
Boote Redaktion
· 24.10.2023
Update from 25 October: According to the DGzRS, the search for the four missing seamen of the sunken "Verity" south-west of Helgoland was suspended on Wednesday night. Due to the large number of resources - ships and helicopters - in the area, it was possible to search the entire sea area in question again during the night. After this yielded no results, the search was cancelled.
The search on the surface of the water will not be resumed, the press release continues. The accident command will decide in the morning what measures will be taken around the scene of the accident during the course of the day.
The "Polesie" also docked in Cuxhaven at around four o'clock in the early morning. The cargo ship, which had collided with the "Verity" on Tuesday morning, was able to call at the harbour town under its own power.
The weather at the scene of the accident had deteriorated slightly over the course of the evening and night: with rain showers and a wind force of six, the wave heights were between two and three metres.
First message from 24 October
A ship collision occurred in the German Bight at 5 o'clock on Tuesday morning. According to the DGzRS, the cargo ships "Polesie" and "Verity" collided about twelve nautical miles (22 kilometres) southwest of the island of Helgoland and 17 nautical miles (31 kilometres) northeast of the island of Langeoog. The Central Command for Maritime Emergencies has taken over overall command of the operation. Various media report continuously on the maritime emergency.
The Central Command for Maritime Emergencies currently assumes that the "Verity" sank as a result of the collision. Two people have already been rescued from the water and are now in hospital. As the DGzRS announced on Tuesday afternoon, one man could only be rescued dead. Several ships are being deployed to search for the shipwrecked men. A total of seven people were on board the "Verity". Four castaways are still missing, according to the DGzRS. The 22 people on board the cargo ship "Polesie" are uninjured according to current information.
Additional emergency services deploy after ship collision
According to the sea rescuers, two rescue cruisers from the Deutsche Bucht/Helgoland and Hooksiel stations of the DGzRS are currently in operation. There is also an emergency tugboat, a pilot tender, a water police boat and a SAR helicopter from the German Navy.
The rescue cruiser "Hermann Marwede" is coordinating the search in the affected area. Another DGzRS rescue boat, the ATAIR (Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency), the multi-purpose vessel MELLUM (Waterways and Shipping Administration) and another water police boat are also on their way.
Sensor aircraft and cruise ship support search
The CCME is also having the DO228 sensor aircraft fly over the sea area to obtain further information. The airspace above the scene of the accident is closed within a radius of ten nautical miles so as not to hinder the search operation.
The cruise ship "Iona" is providing support in the search: people can also receive medical care from doctors on board the ship. Additional medical personnel are being brought to the scene of the accident by helicopter. The wind force in the sea area is six Beaufort with a sea of three metres.
About the cargo ships
The "Verity" (length: 91 m, width: 14 m, flag: United Kingdom) was travelling from Bremen to Immingham in the UK. The "Polesie" (length: 190 m, width 29 m, flag: Bahamas) was travelling from Hamburg to La Coruña in Spain.
