C3/​2001M F/​F SARA, Col­li­sion with an Un­known Ves­sel South­east of Got­land, March 21, 2001

15.04.2005

The fishing vessel SARA from Närpes, Finland was fishing southeast of Gotland island in the Baltic Sea on April 20–21, 2001. She carried a crew of three persons. As the weather got worse in the evening, the vessel was stopped and she made no way through the water. After midnight at 0230 hours the skipper, being on the bridge, noticed that another vessel hit the SARA.

SARA’s port beam was damaged and the vessel started to take in water. All pumps, including the cooling water pump for the main engine were used to pump water out. SARA sent out a distress message.

MRCC Gothenburg sent out a helicopter to bring more pump capacity onboard. With these pumps the situation was stabilized. Another Finnish fishing vessel in the area came to SARA and towed her to the Gotland coast where a Swedish coast guard vessel took SARA on tow and helped her to Ronehamn in Gotland.

The fishermen were able to get only a brief glimpse of the vessel that had rammed SARA. They said that it probably was a large cargo vessel in ballast with blue hull and either her name or homeport might include the letters “PORT”. The investigation listed the vessels in area and answered MRCC’s MAYDAY RELAY. The vessel with the shortest distance to the accident site was the Bahamas flag tanker HAMANE SPIRIT that was on ballast voyage to Ventspils, Latvia.

There are many facts that support the view that it was HAMANE SPIRIT that had been the vessel that rammed SARA. This could not be fully proved. The investigation did not succeed in getting a complete picture of the traffic situation in the accident area in spite of numerous attempts.

There were no physical injuries to the persons onboard. SARA’s hull was damaged to such an extent that the hull insurers considered her a total loss.