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Canada Thu Mar 23, 7:30 pm

Canadian ships sent on Bermuda rescue mission

Five Canadian warships and a Hercules aircraft are racing toward Bermuda in an attempt to rescue the crew of a sinking cargo vessel. The crew abandoned ship about 5 p.m. ET

Thirty-one crew members were aboard the Panamanian bulk carrier Leader L . The ship started taking in water through its centre hold about 700 kilometres north of Bermuda.

Lt.-Cmdr. Glenn Chamberlain said that a 15-metre plate came away from the ship below the waterline. The trouble started for the Leader L when its cargo hold filled with water.

A Canadian naval task group was already in the area, about 460 kilometres away. In that group there are three frigates and a supply ship.

The frigates have three Sea King helicopters among them. The Canadian Navy says those helicopters will be within flying distance in about two hours.

But the Canadian Hercules aircraft from Greenwood, N.S. also on its way is expected to be the first on the scene by mid-evening.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), March 23, 2000

Answers

Nando Times

Rescuers trying to reach sinking cargo ship in Atlantic

HAMILTON, Bermuda (March 23, 2000 7:24 p.m. EST

http://www.nandotimes.com)

The crew of a Greek cargo vessel abandoned ship Thursday afternoon after the ship started sinking in the Atlantic Ocean more than 400 miles northeast of Bermuda.

The 776-foot Leader L sent out a distress call at 1:32 p.m. EST that it was taking on water through a 45-foot gash in the right side of the hull, said Allison von Hagn, a U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman in Norfolk, Va.

The ship's 31-member crew began boarding two life boats in seas with 16-foot waves, von Hagn said.

"They haven't been able to let us know how much water they're taking on so we're not sure how quickly they're sinking," von Hagn said. It was not clear what caused the gash.

A Liberian-flagged cargo ship, Knock Stocks, was the closest ship, about 120 miles away, and has diverted from its route to help the ship, the Coast Guard said in a statement.

Four Canadian navy ships with rescue helicopters on board were steaming toward the scene but were still more than 250 miles away. Officials did not know when they would arrive.

A U.S. Coast Guard C-130 plane from North Carolina was to arrive in the evening, but it could only monitor the ship, not rescue people, von Hagn said.

The Panamanian-flagged ship, owned by Leoninus Shipping, was carrying salt from Spain to New York. It had changed course toward Bermuda and was moving at about 7 mph before the crew began abandoning ship, von Hagn said.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), March 23, 2000.