The German Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (Havarienkommando) has called off the search for now for the missing people who were onboard the cargo ship Verity that sunk in the North Sea after a collision with the bulk carrier Polesie on Tuesday morning.

In its latest update, Havarienkommando said that with the resources involved in the search for the four missing seafarers, the search went on through the night, however, it yielded no results. This resulted in the decision to stop the search, with the agency adding that surface search would not be resumed.

Havarienkommando will decide today what measures will be taken around the accident site.

Night dive in deteriorating conditions

In the hours following the accident between the general cargo vessel Verity and the bulk carrier Polesie some 22 kilometres southwest of the island of Helgoland in the North Sea, two people have been rescued with an additional casualty confirmed.

Havarienkommando noted that it has taken into account the possibility that not all crew members were able to disembark the sinking vessel, suspecting they could still be trapped in the hull. A diving operation was launched in the late afternoon, however, divers were not able to gain any information.

The command noted that the weather is deteriorating, with the visibility at the wreckage site between one and two meters.

Furthermore, the wind has picked up over the night causing waves at the search area of two to three meters.

Polesie docks at Cuxhaven

The bulk carrier Polesie, with 22 people on board, docked at Cuxhaven around 4 am, according to the command. The vessel was able to reach the port under its own power.

Polesie is a 2009-built handysize bulk carrier built at the Xingang Shipyard in Tianjin, China. The vessel has a length of 189.99 meters and is sailing under the flag of the Bahamas.

The sunken Verity, on the other hand, is a UK-flagged general cargo vessel with an overall length of 91 metres.

The two vessels collided on October 24 in the early morning hours. Verity departed Bremen and was heading to Immingham in the UK, while Polesie left Hamburg and was heading to La Coruña in Spain.