Captain Missing After Cargo Ship Sinks in Aegean Sea

Location of Karpathos in the Aegean Sea.

A search is underway for the missing captain of a general cargo ship which sank over the weekend west of the Greek island of Karpathos.

The Hellenic Coast Guard reports that the Port Authority of Karpathos received a distress call early Saturday morning from the Sierra Leone-flagged MV Stella reporting that the vessel was in danger of sinking about 19 nautical miles west of the island, located in the southeastern Aegean Sea.

The Coast Guard dispatched patrol boats and at least one helicopter to scene along with diverting nearby vessels to the area.

Upon arrival Coast Guard crews rescued five crewmembers from a liferaft and transferred them to Rhodes via helicopter. The ship’s Captain, however, was missing and is feared to have gone down with the ship.

The six total crewmembers are all reportedly Georgian nationals.

The 284 DWT, 1967-built MV Stella was sailing from AliaÄŸa, Turkey to Cyprus when she sank, according to the Hellenic Coast Guard.

The incident is currently under investigation by the Port Authority of Karpathos.

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