Songa-Pearl

The missing crew member of the 'Songa,Pearl' was found hidden on board during the transit of the Kiel Canal and handed over to the care of the shore-based rescue service. A large contingent had searched for the man for hours on Jan 25. The sailor was found completely disoriented and confused. The exact circumstances were still unclear. The tanker reached Gdansk on Jan 27.

On the early morning of Jan 25, 2026, the ' Songa Pearl', enroute from Antwerp to Gdansk, lost a 29 year old crew member over board un the Elbe estuary. Alarn was raised at 6 a.m. The man was last seen a few hours ago. The sea rescuers of the DGzRS, along with other vessels, started a search operation. The DGzRS deployed the the ' Hernann Rudolf Meyer', 'Anneliese Kramer', 'Theodor Storm', 'Bernhard Gruben', 'Hermann Marwede' aso OSC and the 'Gillis Gullbranson', the police boat “Bürgermeister Brauer” of the Hamburg water police, the police boat “Schwansen” of the Schleswig-Holstein water police, the pilot boat “Pilot Dithmarschen” and the tug “Soenke” as well as a Sea Lion helicopter of the naval air wing participated in the search operation. The MRCC in Bremen coordinated the efforts. Due to the unclear time elapsed since the last sighting of the seaman, the search area initially covered a wide area between the Weser and Elbe estuaries. Several lifeboats searched both the Lower Elbe and sections of the Outer Weser and Outer Elbe. Around 7:00 a.m., the lifeboat "Anneliese Kramer" found a lifebuoy with a flashing light on the Lower Elbe, which could be clearly attributed to the "Songa Pearl." The search initially focused on an area off the coast between Cuxhaven-Groden and Otterndorf (Cuxhaven district). Due to tidal and current conditions, the search shifted northwest. The water temperature in the operational area was around one degree Celsius with wind force 3. At 12.52 p.m. the search was stopped unless new information emerged. The tanker reached the Brunsbüttel locks of the Kiel Canal at 10.30 a.m. UTC with an ETA at Gdansk as of Jan 27. Report with photo: https://www.seenotretter.de/aktuelles/seenotfaelle/gross-angelegte-suche-nach-vermisstem-seemann-in-der-elbmuendung