Malta-flagged cargo sinks after collision with ferry off Albania

The Italian Coast Guard that responded to the satellite-launched SOS said that at least one crew member out of 10 who were on board the Malta-flagged Reina 1 have died, and his body was recovered. Two other corpses were spotted in the sea, but efforts to recover them have proved futile due to bad weather conditions.

The crew on board the 'Reina 1' are said to be all of Turkish nationality.

The 1991-built 2,345 gross tonnage general cargo Reina 1 was involved in a collision 18 nautical miles off Albania in the early morning of Thursday 20 October 2011 at about 3am local time with the 1983-built 10,870 GT Turkish flagged passenger roro cargo ferry MF Ankara.

The Marine Safety Investigation Unit is informed that following the collision, the Reina 1 sank and eight crew members are still reported missing.  A search and rescue operation is being conducted by the competent authorities.  It is also reported that the master and chief officer of the Maltese ship have been hospitalised, whilst the Turkish ship returned to her port of departure.

No pollution has so far been reported.

Since this morning, the Marine Safety Investigation Unit is in constant contact with the International Safety Managers of the Maltese general cargo in Turkey and the Turkish maritime authorities in Ankara.

The Maltese authorities will be deploying officials to investigate the accident and will be liaising closely with the Turkish authorities in their investigation of the accident.