2 Filipino sailors missing after ship collision

MANILA, Philippines - Three sailors, including two Filipinos, are missing after their ship sank following a collision with a fishing trawler in the North Sea off the Dutch coast on Monday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez said the Philippine embassy in The Hague informed the DFA and confirmed that two Filipinos are missing after their ship, the Maria, sank following a collision with fishing trawler Texel 68 on the North Sea off the Dutch coast at 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 7.

The embassy reported that the ship was deployed to guard an oil drilling platform about 40 kilometers southwest of the Dutch navy port of Den Helder. It had about five crewmembers – two were rescued while three remain missing.

“Our embassy was informed that the Dutch Coast Guard is still searching for the missing crewmembers,” Hernandez said. “Our embassy continues to monitor developments on this in coordination with authorities there as well as with the shipping agent.”

Dutch news agency ANP reported that two of the missing men are Filipino and the third is from Indonesia.

The Dutch Coast Guard called off Monday a search for three missing sailors amid fears they may have drowned in the North Sea after their ship sank following the collision with a fishing trawler.

The shipping lane where the accident happened is one of the busiest in the North Sea and an important passing point for ships sailing into Rotterdam port, Europe’s largest and the fifth-largest in the world.