ABERDEEN COASTGUARD COORDINATE SEARCH FOR MAN OVERBOARD FROM TANKER IN NORTH SEA

At 08.15 am, Aberdeen coastguard received a telephone call from the tanker Palva.

The crew called to inform the Coastguard that they had discovered that one of the crew was missing at 06.00 am. He had been last seen when he had gone off shift at 02.00 am.

Aberdeen Coastguard broadcast a mayday relay which was responded to by the platform standby vessels VOS Explorer, Grampian Corsair and other vessels in the area. The Palva has also turned around and is navigating back on its original course. A rescue helicopter was requested and Rescue 131 was scrambled.

The search area is 60 miles long by 8 miles wide due to the distance travelled by the tanker before discovering the man missing.

The motor tanker is a Finnish flagged vessel and was on passage from Kirkwall to Rotterdam.

Kevin Brown, Watch Manager, Aberdeen coastguard said:

We are utilising the assistance offered by the platform support vessels in the search for this crewman. The search area is very large, but everything possible is being done in the faint hope of finding the man.

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