The Dutch coast guard has called off the search for missing crew members from car carrier Baltic Ace, which sank last week after collision with containership Corvus J near the entrance to the Rotterdam’s port.

Since the accident happened outside the Netherlands’ territorial waters the Dutch police have no jurisdiction to initiate an investigation, Reuters informs citing Dutch police. However, in order to ensure safe traffic through one of the busiest shipping lanes the Dutch government has sent its hydrographic research and oil spill response vessel MV Arca to the scene.

After placing five cardinal buoys to mark the place of the Baltic Ace wreck, MV Arca conducted a survey of the wreck. It turned out that the wreck poses a direct danger to traffic since the depth of the water at the accident site is 36 meters and just 6 meters is the distance between the wreck and the surface.

It is now up to the countries where the ships are registered, the Bahamas and Cyprus, to investigate the collision case.

To remind, thirteen of the twenty-four crew members were rescued after the Bahamas-registered Baltic Ace sank on Wednesday night, including the captain. The Dutch coast guard has recovered the bodies of five sailors and six missing crew members are assumed dead because of the unfavorable weather conditions.

Subsea World News Staff, December 10, 2012