HELSINKI (AP) – An unmanned Dutch cargo ship may be in danger of sinking in rough seas off the coast of Norway after its crew was evacuated following a ship’s distress call.
The Norwegian Coast Administration said on Tuesday that it had dispatched a coast guard ship to inspect the situation with the Eemslift Hendrika, which is listing and floating without an engine in the Norwegian Sea, 130 kilometers (80 miles) from the city of Alesund.
Scene video showed how the Norwegian Rescue Coordination Center evacuated some of the ship’s 12 crew members by helicopters after they jumped into the sea. The ship issued a distress call on Monday night.
Maritime authorities said their focus now is on figuring out how to stabilize the ship so that it doesn’t sink while trying to make sure the ship doesn’t hit the shore. Surveillance planes patrolled the area.
“We are optimistic, but at the same time we have waves of 15 meters high and strong winds. The climatic conditions are extreme and the safety of the personnel will always come first, ”the Norwegian Coast Administration’s emergency director Hannes-Petter Mortensholm told the newspaper VG.
Norwegian public broadcaster NRK said the ship lost power to its main engine on Monday night. If the ship sinks, Norwegian authorities are concerned about the leakage of diesel and fuel oil from their tanks.
Registered in the Netherlands, the Eemslift Hendrika was built in 2015. Its cargo was not known immediately.