- Numerous rescue ships and a cruise liner rushed to the scene of a cargo ship crash on Tuesday.
- Two cargo ships collided, with one sinking, in the early morning. Five people are presumed dead.
A fatal crash between two cargo ships in the North Sea on Tuesday saw multiple vessels brought in for a rescue attempt.
One was a luxury cruise liner headed for the major European port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
At around 5 a.m. local time Tuesday, two cargo ships — the Polesie and the Verity — collided, around 12 miles southwest of the German island of Helgoland, according to Germany's Central Command for Maritime Emergencies.
The Verity, a British cargo ship, sank, the CMME said.
Out of seven people on board, two were pulled out of the water, one was found dead, and a further four are presumed dead, per the CMME. According to The Guardian, the authority initially hoped some may be alive and sheltering in the vessel on the sea floor.
The Polesie is owned by a Polish company under a Bahamian flag with a crew of 22, according to The Guardian. It remained afloat and made it to a German port by about 4 a.m. local time on Wednesday, CMME said.
Ship-tracking website Marine Traffic showed the path of the two ships at the time of the crash:
This morning at 02:57 UTC, the bulk carrier VERITY (9229178) suffered a direct collision by the bulk carrier POLESIE (9488097) near Helgoland island, Germany. The VERITY sank at (possibly) 54.0259, 7.640137, per AIS. One rescued; several missing. @MarineTraffic @Kpler pic.twitter.com/sjiYFrTsNn
— TankerTrackers.com, Inc. (@TankerTrackers) October 24, 2023
It was a sombering detour for the British-flagged Iona, a luxury cruise liner which was en route to Rotterdam at the time of the crash.
A spokesperson for the Iona's P&O Cruises told Insider that the cruise liner joined the search and rescue operation soon afterwards, but by the afternoon was released from the efforts.
According to CMME, the search was conducted amid rain showers and waves of around seven to 10 feet, with the weather worsening overnight. As well as the Iona, 10 further vessels and a German Navy helicopter joined the search. It was halted late on Tuesday.
"The search on the water surface will not be resumed today," CMME said on Wednesday.
One person identifying themselves on X as one of the Iona's passengers wrote: "A sobering day. Woken at 5.30 am by the Captain calling rescue staff to muster."
Another X user who said they were on the Iona wrote:
Bit of a different post today, My deep condolences to the family’s of the lost that were in the North Sea off the coast of Germany. 2 rescued and one body have been recovered. My deepest condolences to those affected by the tragedy @pandocruises @SHIPS_LTD @MarineTraffic pic.twitter.com/J8V6mP0h7E
— F1 Lover (@F1Lover2007) October 24, 2023
Insider was unable to confirm whether the people were indeed on the Iona.
The megaship, which features 19 decks, a three-deck atrium and a domed performance area, "sailed to Rotterdam, arriving this morning as scheduled," said P&O's Michele Andjel in a statement.