Seafarer falls overboard from tanker in Elbe estuary

Seafarer falls overboard from tanker in Elbe estuary
The Editorial Team January 27, 2026 https://safety4sea.com/seafarer-falls-overboard-from-tanker-in-elbe-estu...

Sea rescue services have suspended a large-scale search launched on January 25, 2026, for a missing crew member from the tanker Songa Pearl on the Elbe estuary.

The operation was coordinated by the German Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) Bremen, operated by the German Maritime Search and Rescue Service (DGzRS). The alarm was raised around 6 a.m. after a 29-year-old seaman was reported missing from the Malta-flagged tanker, which was en route from Antwerp to Gdansk and located off Cuxhaven on the Lower Elbe at the time. The crew member had last been seen on board several hours earlier.

Six DGzRS rescue units, vessels from the Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein water police, government and pilot boats, a tugboat, and a Sea Lion search and rescue helicopter from the German Navy Air Service were deployed. Initial search efforts covered a wide area between the Weser and Elbe estuaries due to the elapsed time since the seaman was last seen.

At around 7 a.m., the sea rescue cruiser Anneliese Kramer located a lifebuoy with a flashing light on the Lower Elbe, later confirmed to belong to the Songa Pearl. Following the discovery, all units focused their search on an area between Groden and Otterndorf. The sea rescue cruiser Hermann Marwede served as on-scene coordinator, with the search area later shifting northwest due to tidal and current conditions.

Weather conditions included easterly winds of about three Beaufort and a water temperature of approximately one degree Celsius.

The DGzRS has since suspended the search pending new information.