Britain ship capsized, eight people missing including Filipino

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MANILA – Lifeboat crews are continuously searching for the eight people, including a Filipino, aboard the cargo vessel that turned over in the northeast tip of Britain on Saturday.

Cargo ship Cemfjord was carrying cement when it capsized around 15 miles from Wick in northeast Scotland at around 1430 GMT.

Brise of Hamburg, the managers of the carrier, said in a statement that the crew were missing “following a severe accident.

“No distress call was received from the vessel.

Bad weather prevailed in the area at the time and conditions remain difficult at the scene, with storm force winds. The crew consists of seven Polish seafarers and one Filipino mariner. The company is in the process of informing the families,” said the statement.

According to Bill Farquar from the local lifeboat station, the weather was really bad that time and that they have not received any mayday call.

“It is very, very strange, especially with all the weather technology we have nowadays,” said Farquar.

He added, “Whatever happened, it happened very rapidly.”

The carrier, which was built in 1984, measures 83-meter. According to Brise, the vessel passed renewal inspections last December.

She was carrying about 2,000 tons of cement from Aalborg in Denmark to Liverpool. It was set to arrive on Monday.