A workboat has sunk off the coast of Karmøy in Rogaland, Norway.
The incident, which occurred on the evening of Thursday, February 16, is not reported to have resulted in any injuries.
The Norwegian Rescue Center (Hovedredningssentralen, HRS) received a distress signal “MAYDAY” from the vessel at approximately 22:08, indicating that the boat was west of Karmøy and taking on significant amounts of water, according to center’s official account on X/Twitter. The boat had five individuals on board at the time of the incident.
Rescue efforts were promptly initiated, and within approximately ten minutes, HRS reported that all persons on board had been evacuated to another nearby vessel. The individuals were rescued by a boat from the same company, Karmsund Shipping, and confirmed to be safe and unharmed.
The rescue coordination center dispatched a lifeboat to the scene, but by the time it arrived, the “Maya” had already sunk.
Eilen Furre, a rescue leader at HRS, told local media Haugesunds Avis (HA) that the sinking of “Maya” was due to hull damage sustained during sea-based operations.
Leif Kåre Sørvik, Managing Director of Karmsund Shipping, explained to HA that the accident occurred during a towing operation, where “Maya” was serving as the towing vessel.
Karmsund Shipping, based in Karmøy, owned the sunken workboat. The incident and its causes are currently under investigation.
