Authorities say they have recovered five bodies and believe the six seafarers who remain missing are dead.
"Given the water temperature and the amount of time that's passed, we don't have any hope for more survivors," Peter Westenburg of the Dutch Coast Guard told reporters Thursday.
In a statement Ray Car Carriers, the owner of the 2,000-ceu Baltic Ace (built 2007), and Stamco Ship Management of Greece applauded the agencies that helped save 13 of the 24 seafarers on board and offered condolences to the families of the missing.
“Senior representatives of Ray Car Carriers and Stamco are en route to the Netherlands where they will meet with crew and family members who will be offered every support,” they added before pledging close cooperation with authorities involved in a subsequent investigation.
As we reported, the Baltic Ace and the 707-teu Corvus J (built 2003) collided in the North Sea on the evening of 5 December some 15 nautical miles from the Steenbank Pilot Station and approximately 40 miles from Rotterdam.
According to local media reports the Corvus J was seriously damaged but not in danger of sinking. Its 12-man crew is believed to have escaped unharmed and had assisted in search and rescue efforts before sailing toward Antwerp to undergo repairs.
The hull insurance of the Baltic Ace, which was carrying 1,417 vehicles and on charter to United European Car Carriers at the time of the crash, is led by Stephen Catlin’s syndicate 2003 while protection and indemnity (P&I) cover is with the North of England Club.
Corvus J, part of the fleet of Jungerhans Maritime Services of Germany, maintains P&I cover with Gard, according to data from Equasis. The root cause of the incident is still unknown and remains the subject of an investigation that will likely focus on possible human error, high winds and rough seas in an area that is notoriously treacherous.
