HELSINKI (AP) – Bad weather has hampered efforts to rescue a Dutch cargo ship drifting off the coast of Norway for two days after its crew was evacuated, Norwegian maritime officials said on Wednesday.
Norwegian and Dutch salvage experts are expected to try again on Thursday.
“Life and health are always the first priority during an incident like this, and it must be safe to carry out the rescue,” said Hans Petter Mortensholm, emergency director at the Norwegian Coastal Administration.
The weather in the region has improved slightly and the ship was no longer in immediate danger of capsizing, even though it was at an angle of 40-50 degrees, Norwegian officials said.
However, it is slowly being carried ashore by the waves, and there is a risk that it could beach later on Wednesday. The vessel contains significant amounts of diesel and fuel in its tanks, which can cause an environmental disaster if released into the sea.
The Eemslift Hendrika, a special ship registered by the Netherlands and designed to transport boats on its deck, operates in an area where the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea meet, about 40-50 kilometers from the shore and the city of Alesund.
The crew of 12 were evacuated to land by helicopter after the ship sent an emergency call late Monday after a power outage in the main car in heavy seas.
The Norwegian news agency NTB said that four Dutch rescue experts would drop by helicopter to the Eemslift Hendrika in terms of a rescue plan, after which they would tie tow ropes to wait for the vessel to tow two tugs.
One large boat on board the 6-year-old Eemslift Hendrika fell off the vessel in heavy seas on Tuesday to stabilize the ship.