Officers from the 129-metre container vessel Longdawn have been intervewed by police and arrests have been made following an incident off the south-west of Iceland.
Longdawn’s officers have been questioned by police in the Westman Islands due to suspicion that the freighter could be responsible for the loss of coastal fishing vessel Hadda, which took on water and was swamped following a collision north of Garðskagi earlier this week.
The Coast Guard received a distress call at 0242 on Thursday morning, transmitted by another coastal fishing boat, reporting that Hadda was sinking. A Coast Guard helicopter was scrambled, and local lifeboats were called out. By the time rescue services, including Sandgerði-based lifeboat Hannes Þ Haftsteinn arrived at the scene, the skipper of the coastal boat who made the initial distress call had already managed to rescue the single-handed fisherman from the sinking Hadda.
The suspicion is that the courses of the 129-metre Longdawn and the 9-metre Hadda intersected, and Longdawn, which was heading for Rotterdam, was ordered by the Icelandic Coast Guard to dock in the Westman Islands. Damage to Hadda and abrasion to Longdawn’s bulbous bow indicate a collision.
Media in Iceland report that Longdawn’s master and second officer have been arrested on suspicion of failing to respond to an incident. The investigation is being handled by the Suðurnes police force. Longdawn’s chief officer and one other crew member were released after being questioned.
