Cargo Ship UHL Freedom Drifts Off Schiermonnikoog
AI illustrationA cargo ship lost control off the Dutch Wadden island of Schiermonnikoog on Sunday and drifted in Beaufort 9 winds for several hours before rescue teams reached it. Dutch and German coast guard crews, together with KNRM lifeboats from Ameland, Eemshaven and Schiermonnikoog, responded after the ship broke free from its anchor in waves above 4.5 metres.
The ship, UHL Freedom, was carrying 25 crew, according to NL Times. Four people were hurt. NL Now reported a fifth injury. A coast guard helicopter airlifted an emergency nurse to the ship. German rescue boats from Borkum also responded. The ship was sailing under the Portuguese flag, NL Times reported.
It was the second major storm incident in European waters in two weeks. On 9 October, a cargo ship was stripped of its anchors in a Baltic storm and ran aground off the Kaliningrad coast.
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