Search fails to find missing crew of capsized Cemfjord

The 1984-built Cemfjord was found capsized on Saturday by a ferry in the area, and all eight seafarers onboard are missing.

The UK’s Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) said the search was suspended on Sunday evening with no sign of the missing crew. “The lifeboats completed their search areas earlier this afternoon and returned to shore. The helicopter, coastguard rescue teams, fixed wing aircraft and HMS Somerset continued to search but sadly, by last light this evening nothing was found,” the MCA said in a statement.

Managers of the vessel Brise Hamburg said: “Brise of Hamburg, the vessel managers, regret that despite the best efforts of the search teams, no trace has been found of the Cemfjord’s crew.”

The crew comprised seven Polish seafarers and one Filipino national.

A report in the Aberdeen Press & Journal said an inflatable liferaft believed to be from the Cemfjord had washed up on the Orkney Islands. The picture of the liferaft (left) was posted by STV journalist Rebecca Curran on Twitter.

“During the night Sunday/Monday the Coastguard tug Herakles, will remain at the presumed position of the submerged Cemfjord,” the company added.

The Cemfjord was sailing from Aalborg, Denmark bound for Runcorn in the UK where it was due to arrive on Monday with a cargo of 2,000 tonnes of cement, when the incident happened.