A luxury cruise ship found itself off course this week after being diverted to help on a tragic rescue mission in the North Sea.
P&O Cruises ship Iona, which set sail from the British port of Southhampton just a few days ago, was forced to pause its luxury European sailing trip to help with the search for missing sailors on board a British cargo ship when it sank after a collision.
Two cargo vessels, the UK ship Verity and the Bahamas-flagged Polesie, collided at 3 a.m. local time on Tuesday roughly 14 miles from the German isle of Helgoland, maritime authorities have said. The Verity sank in the North Sea following the collision, with one person confirmed dead, two rescued and another four still missing.
Iona was directed to help with the search and offer medical treatment to survivors if necessary. According to a report by Cruise Hive, passengers were informed at 5:30 a.m. via an emergency announcement calling crew to muster stations.
Passengers onboard the Iona didn't seem too bothered by the diversion from their next destination of Rotterdam. One X, formerly Twitter, user wrote: "Announcement from the captain. We're now on our way to Rotterdam as #iona services are no longer needed. Much respect to the crew from me." Another posted with an accompanying image from the ship: "Well done to the crew on Iona helping with the search and rescue this morning. Very sad."
On Tuesday, passenger Nica Quigley told the UK-based news site Daily Echo: "At 7am we had a brief explanation, nobody knew two ships had collided, but just that we were assisting in a search and rescue and we've had nothing since."
The British ship, The Verity, had seven people on board and was en route from Bremen, Germany, to the English port of Inningham. The search for the missing sailors has now been discontinued. None of the 22 crew members on the Polesie was hurt.
According to the BBC, the German Central Command for Maritime Emergencies said conditions around the wreck were "very difficult", hampering rescue efforts. Visibility only extended a meter or two and strong currents had hampered rescue efforts before they were abandoned altogether.
Robby Renner, who headed emergency command overseeing the rescue operation, said, "The conditions on the spot are extremely difficult," according to Sky News.
"Because of the weather and visibility underwater, it's incredibly difficult to conduct such an operation."
A spokesperson for P&O Cruises confirmed to Cruise Hive that even with a diversion there would be no impact on the ship's remaining itinerary, which includes calling on Rotterdam, Netherlands, and Zeebrugge, Belgium, returning to Southampton on Saturday, October 28. The ship pulled into port at Rotterdam early on Wednesday, Sky News has reported.
Newsweek has contacted P&O Cruises for comment via phone.
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