Update: Saga Sky now in anchorage at Dungeness following incident this morning

The Saga Sky is now in a safe anchorage at Dungeness after it suffered damage this morning following engine and steering failure and collided with a rock barge at the Varne Bank.

Plans are now being made to attempt to move her into a port of refuge. Both lifeboats, Dover and Dungeness have been stood down, although a tug remains on scene.

The hull was damaged as a result of this morning’s collision and the cargo ship started taking on water as a result. The UK Coastguard co-ordinated the rescue efforts with eleven of the 23 people on board being winched off and taken to Dover. The  other 12 remain on board.

Inspectors, including one from the Maritime & Coastguard Agency are being sent to the Saga Sky to assess the damage before the vessel is moved.

The Maritime & Coastguard Agency’s counter-pollution officer and duty surveyor, as well as the Secretary of State’s Representative Maritime and Salvage are liaising with the UK Coastguard and the crew on the ship. There is no indication of pollution, although vessels on the scene and the MCA’s verification aircraft will continue to monitor the scene.


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