Nautilus calls for thorough investigation following cargo ship collision

Nautilus has called for authorities to conduct a thorough investigation of the collision between Isle of Man-flagged cargo ship Verity and the Bahamas-flagged Poleseie, which occured last week.

The collision took place in German waters, 14 miles off the island of Heligoland, and caused the Verity to capsize and sink, resulting  in one confirmed fatality. Two people have been rescued and hospitalised, and four or more crew members remain missing. Poleseie remained afloat with 22 people onboard and docked in the port of Cuxhaven with large-scale damage to the ship's hull.

The rescue mission has now been called off by the German Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre.

Immediately following the incident, Mark Dickinson, Nautilus general secretary, stated that although it is an 'evolving situation' and the cause and responsibility of the crash remains unknown, the Union will be there for members who may have been affected.

'We have a suite of services and benefits that our members rely on us to provide, [including] legal advice and guidance and emotional support to those who might be directly impacted,’ he said.

Mr Dickinson added that Nautilus will be calling on authorities to 'get involved and conduct a full investigation', to understand why the accident was able to occur.

'These situations are always tragic, but we need to learn the lessons to make sure it doesn't happen again,’ he said.