The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Families of seamen lost as cargo ship sank to visit site of tragedy
The families of the seamen lost when their cargo ship sank suddenly off the Caithness coast, will make a poignant trip to the scene of the tragedy next month.
They will be taken out on a boat to the spot above the wreck where their loved ones died.
They will be able to lay wreaths and flowers on the sea to honour their men, whose bodies have never been found andmay still be inside the wreck. The owners of the bulk cement carrier Cemfjord are taking the relatives to the north of Scotland to pay their respect to the eight crewmen.
A private commemoration for the families will take place on Friday, July 3, at Duncansby Head, the nearest land to the sinking site east of the Pentland Skerries.
The next day there will be a memorial service in St John’s Episcopal Church in Wick followed by a wreathlaying ceremony at sea.
The bulk carrier was last recorded travelling west through the Pentland Firth on the afternoon of Friday, January 2.
But its upturned hull was discovered by a Northlink ferry the following day.
Mysteriously, electronic devices that should have alerted the Coastguard to the sinking did not activate. The crew were the master Pawel Chruscinski, 43, chief officer Jaroslaw Orlov, 45, chief engineer Roman Tamas, 56, and seamen Henryk Dubanowski, 55, Tomasz Kwiatkowski, 31, Artur Podrazka, 24, and Artur Wegorek, also 24, all from Poland.
The eighth member of the crew was Filipino seaman, Jerome Narvasa, 32.
Tony Redding, for the ship’s owners, Brise of Hamburg, said: “The commemoration will take place at Duncansby Head because it is the nearest land to the wreck site, and it will be kept as a private affair.”
More than 100 people packed the pews inside St John’s Episcopal Church to pray for the lost crew and their families on January 19, and a similar turnout will be expected next month.
The vessel is lying on its side in 270ft of water. It does not pose a navigational hazard and with extreme currents in the area, sending divers down is regarded as dangerous.
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch is investigating the tragedy. A remote controlled submarine has examined the wreck and sent back images.
“They will be taken out to the spot above the wreck”