Recovered cargo ship Verity brought to Rotterdam as cleanup of wreck site concludes

The Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration of Germany (Wasser- und Schifffahrtsverwaltung des Bundes; WSV) has reported that the two main sections of the UK-registered general cargo vessel Verity are being transported via barge to a shipyard in Rotterdam and that cleanup operations at the incident site have been concluded.

The cleanup of the incident site in the North Sea off the island of Heligoland was conducted following the weeks-long salvage effort on the ill-fated cargo ship, which sank following a collision with another vessel on October 24, 2023.

Verity broke apart following the incident, thus necessitating that its recovery be done in sections. The stern was the first to be lifted to the surface on August 30, while the bow followed four days later.

One crewmember on Verity was found dead shortly after the collision with the Bahamas-registered cargo ship Polesie while the body of another sailor was found inside a cabin in the stern after the latter was recovered last month.

The bodies of three other crewmembers from Verity have not been found to this day. However, the WSV said that an assortment of body parts was discovered by personnel using cadaver dogs during a renewed examination of the wreck prior to its being brought to Rotterdam.