A Comoros-flagged cargo ship called the Raptor, with 14 crew onboard off the Greek island of Lesbos has sunk after it faced gale-force winds, the Greek coast guard said Sunday prompting a major rescue operation. A navy helicopter had picked up one crew member.
Five other cargo ships, three coast guard vessels, Greece’s air force and navy helicopters were part of the rescue effort. The state-run Athens News Agency (ANA) reported that the cargo ship had 14 crew members and was loaded with salt. The ANA said that it went down 4.5 nautical miles (8.3 kilometres) southwest of Lesbos early Sunday. The ship had sailed from Dekheila, Egypt, heading for Istanbul.
The crew members includes two Syrians, four Indians and eight Egyptians. Ships stayed in dock on Saturday with winds reaching 9-10, a strong gale to storm force, on the Beaufort scale. The Hellenic National Meteorological Service (EMY) had been upgraded on Saturday from “worsening weather” to “dangerous weather phenomena”, as the Storm Oliver moved from across from the Adriatic Sea toward Greece.
Makes us wonder about the nature of global trade and shipping. Turkey both imports and exports salt.
