The Verity cargo ship was carrying seven passengers, steel and 1,300 cubic metres of diesel on board. Credit: Faversham Ships.

A fatal collision between two cargo vessels off the North Sea’s German coast that killed at least one crew member has led to disruption of shipping routes in the region, German authorities have said.

The Verity, a UK-flagged inland bulker, was en route from Bremen, Germany, to Immingham on the Humber estuary in north-east England when it collided with the larger Bahamian-flagged Polesie bulker on Tuesday (24 October), close to the German island of Heligoland. The Polesie was bound for Spain from Hamburg.

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Seven crew were aboard the Verity. One body has been recovered, while two crew members who were in the water have been rescued. The rescue mission has been terminated with the four other crew still missing.

“[We] currently assume that the Verity sank as a result of the collision,” said Germany’s Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (CCME). It added that the Verity was carrying a cargo of steel and had 1,300 cubic metres of diesel on board.

CCME is based in the north German port of Cuxhaven, where the Polesie has now been moored, according to MarineTraffic data.

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UK and Germany – key players in European shipping

The UK and Germany are two of Europe’s leading countries in transport dealings. GlobalData’s deals analytics database indicates that over 26,000 deals have been completed between shipping companies in the two countries since 2019.

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Only France has surpassed the UK and Germany in transport deals by value since the start of the year. Germany is also a European leader in transport-related hirings.

Shipping and logistics companies based in both nations will be monitoring developments in the North Sea closely.

Our signals coverage is powered by GlobalData’s Thematic Engine, which tags millions of data items across six alternative datasets — patents, jobs, deals, company filings, social media mentions and news — to themes, sectors and companies. These signals enhance our predictive capabilities, helping us to identify the most disruptive threats across each of the sectors we cover and the companies best placed to succeed.