Bruce Barnard, Special Correspondent | Dec 06, 2012 9:39AM EST
The Dutch Coast Guard today pulled a fifth body from the North Sea after the sinking of a car carrier that collided Wednesday with a container ship 40 miles southwest of the Port of Rotterdam.
Thirteen seamen on the car carrier Baltic Ace were rescued, but six of the vessel’s 24-man crew are missing.
The search for the missing men resumed at dawn, but was called off several hours later as rescuers say there is very little chance of any one being alive.
The 2007-built Baltic Ace, which was flying the Bahamas flag, was transporting 1,400 Japanese cars from the Belgian Port of Zeebrugge to Kotka, Finland.
The German-owned, Cyprus-registered Corvus J container ship, which has a capacity of 700 20-foot-equivalent units, was sailing from Grangemouth, Scotland, to the Belgian Port of Antwerp.
The fatal collision took place in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, close to the entrance to Rotterdam, Europe’s biggest port.
The Rotterdam port authority said the accident is not affecting shipping in and out of the port.
Contact Bruce Barnard at brucebarnard47@hotmail.com.
