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Maltese-registered ship loses cargo as gales hit Britain

With gales and rain hitting much of the UK yesterday, a helicopter safely winched 16 Russian crewmen off a Maltese-registered cargo ship named ‘ Kodima’ as the vessel began to list in the English Channel, 20 miles south of Cornwall.

The ship was beginning to lose its cargo of timber and coastguards said they were concerned it could shed its 450 tonnes of fuel oil.

"There was quite a heavy degree of risk for the Kodima," a coastguard spokesman said.

"It's just too dangerous to get anybody on board to get a line on board. She's drifting, she's being tossed around, she's losing her cargo of timber overboard all the time," he said.

"We're concerned about the safety of the vessel. She's carrying 450 tonnes of fuel oil on board which we really don't want going in the sea," he said.

Gales and driving rain have plagued the UK since Friday.

In a separate operation, an RAF helicopter from Lossiemouth in Scotland rescued 18 seamen off French fishing vessel Le Parrain yesterday morning. The boat sent distress signals on losing power on Friday 250 miles off the Scottish Western isles.

Two other French fishing vessels, the Cap St. Jacque and the Bruix, were close by to see if they could tow the powerless Le Parrain.

Lifeboatmen also rescued an angler swept off a pier in Porthcawl on the South Wales coast but coastguards feared another fisherman could be missing.

In Brighton, police said a search had resumed for a man who was swept off the pier at the popular tourist resort on Friday night. The man had been clinging to a girder below the pier seconds before he was swept out to sea, police said.

In Ireland, where four days of violent weather killed at least seven people, Dublin authorities invoked emergency measures after storms brought coastal flooding and caused the River Liffey to burst its banks.

High winds and heavy rain left 25,000 homes without power at one stage on Friday and motorists were forced to abandon their cars due to flooding.

Britain's flood-watching Environment Agency said on its website that more than 70 flood warnings remain in place for England and Wales, due largely to seasonally high tides coupled with high winds.