Bad Weather Hampers Salvage Operation On Dutch Cargo Ship Adrift Off Norway - Reports

Norway's emergency response teams are unable to carry out an operation to salvage an abandoned Dutch-flagged cargo ship, adrift in the North Sea, due to bad weather conditions, the Norwegian NRK public broadcaster reported on Wednesday

MURMANSK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th April, 2021) Norway's emergency response teams are unable to carry out an operation to salvage an abandoned Dutch-flagged cargo ship, adrift in the North Sea, due to bad weather conditions, the Norwegian NRK public broadcaster reported on Wednesday.

The Eemslift Hendrika ship transmitted a distress call on Monday.

The crew was soon evacuated by helicopter, but the vessel continued to drift with a high risks of capsizing and causing an oil spill.

"The emergency services are forced to postpone the rescue operation until Thursday morning due to weather conditions. The life and health of personnel is always a priority in such situations," emergency director at the Norwegian Coastal Administration Hans Petter Mortensholm told the broadcaster, adding that the rescue service had to wait for safer conditions to continue the operation.

The cargo ship is carrying some 350 tonnes of oil and 50 tonnes of diesel.