On 24 October 2023, one person was killed and four others disappeared after two

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...

s, the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

flagged Flagging may refer to: *Running out of time on a chess clock *Flagging (tape), a colored non-adhesive tape used in marking objects *Flagging (shipping) of a merchant vessel under the laws of a flag state *The activities of a flagger (disambiguatio ...

and the Bahamian-flagged ''Polesie'', collided in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

near Germany's

Heligoland Heligoland (; german: Helgoland, ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , da, Helgoland) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. A part of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein since 1890, the islands were historically possessions ...

islands, with the ''Verity'' sinking.

Background

was carrying steel from the northern German port of Bremen to

Immingham Immingham is a town, civil parish and ward in the North East Lincolnshire unitary authority of England. It is situated on the south-west bank of the Humber Estuary, and is north-west from Grimsby. The region was relatively unpopulated and un ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

, England, when it collided with ''Polesie'', which had departed from Hamburg port, northern Germany, for

La Coruña LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

in northwestern Spain. ''Verity'' was built in The Netherlands in 2001 and operated since 2008 by the Anglo-Dutch shipping company Faversham Ships, based at

Cowes Cowes () is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes Floa ...

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

. It was a

general cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...

, measured , had an overall length of and capacity of ; ''Verity'' was registered in the

and carried

IMO number The IMO number of the International Maritime Organization is a generic term covering two distinct meanings. The IMO ship identification number, is a type of hull number used as a unique ship identifier, and the IMO company and registered owner ...

9229178. There was a crew of seven on board. The ' handysize'

bulk carrier A bulk carrier or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo — such as grains, coal, ore, steel coils, and cement — in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrier was built in 1852, econom ...

''Polesie'' belongs to the Polish shipping company

Polsteam Polska Żegluga Morska known as Polsteam or PŻM, is a cargo ship operator based in Szczecin, Poland. Polsteam is a state-owned enterprise with around 3,000 employees. Company history Polsteam was founded in 1951, nationalizing the assets of two ...

, based in

Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...

. It was built in China in 2009 for Polsteam, measuring , with an overall length of and capacity of ; ''Polesie'' is registered in the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

, carries

9488097 and has 22 crew.

Collision

The collision took place in the German Bight,

, southwest of

and northeast of the island of

Langeoog Langeoog ( nds, Langeoog) is one of the seven inhabited East Frisian Islands at the edge of the Lower Saxon Wadden Sea in the southern North Sea, located between Baltrum Island (west), and Spiekeroog (east). It is also a municipality in the distric ...

at around 05:00

Central European Summer Time Central European Summer Time (CEST), sometimes referred to as Central European Daylight Time (CEDT), is the standard clock time observed during the period of summer daylight-saving in those European countries which observe Central European Time ...

(CEST) (

UTC+2 UTC+02:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +02:00. In ISO 8601, the associated time would be written as 2020-11-08T23:41:45+02:00. This time is used in: As standard time (year-round) ''Principal cities: Cairo, Pretoria, Cape ...

) on 24October 2023. ''Verity''s automatic identification system (AIS) transmissions ceased at 04.56 CEST, suggesting that it sank immediately after the collision. It was dark, and German authorities reported strong winds and three-metre waves in the area. ''Polesie'' was not seriously damaged and was able to return to

Cuxhaven Cuxhaven (; ) is an independent town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has ...

, all crew members remaining uninjured.

Search

P&O Cruises confirmed that a ship in its fleet, , had been in the area and was involved in the subsequent search. The

German Central Command for Maritime Emergencies German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

deployed two sea rescue cruisers and coordinated a German Navy helicopter and a water police boat, resulting in the rescue of two survivors. One of the ''Verity''s crew was found dead in the water; the remaining four of an original total of seven crew were missing. A search was called off the next day. The Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbrüchiger (German Maritime Search and Rescue Service) sent the SAR-cruisers ''

Hermann Marwede Hermann Marwede (SK 29) is the largest search and rescue cruiser (46-m-class) of German Maritime Search and Rescue Service (DGzRS) and the largest search and rescue cruiser in the world. The ship is based at the SAR-station Helgoland. The boat wa ...

'' (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. The P&O cruise liner ''Iona'' spent the day and night scouring the sea off the north German coast for the missing crew. The sea area where the missing sailors might be was searched during the night of 25-26 October without success, and rescuers then stopped the search. A

remotely operated underwater vehicle A remotely operated underwater vehicle (technically ROUV or just ROV) is a tethered underwater mobile device, commonly called ''underwater robot''. Definition This meaning is different from remote control vehicles operating on land or in the ai ...

(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. The ''Polesie'' was able to reach the German Port of Cuxhaven under its own steam.

Investigation

The cause of the collision is not publicly known. The German

Federal Bureau for Maritime Casualty Investigation The Federal Bureau for Maritime Casualty Investigation (german: Bundesstelle für Seeunfalluntersuchung, BSU) is the German agency for investigating maritime accidents and incidents. It is subordinate to the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building ...

(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 The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) is a UK government organisation, authorised to investigate all maritime accidents in UK waters and accidents involving UK registered ships worldwide. Investigations are limited to establishing cau ...

, was taking over the management of the joint investigation; the general manager of the , Martin Kröger, stated that it is "far too early to say what was the cause of the accident".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heligoland ship collision, 2023 2023 disasters in Germany 21st century in Schleswig-Holstein 2023 ship collision History of the North Sea Maritime incidents in 2023 October 2023 events in Germany Shipwrecks in the North Sea

Background

Collision

Search

Investigation

See also

References