Cargo ship sinks: Search on for missing St-Pierre crewmembers

By JAMES MCLEOD

FOR THE SOU’WESTER

Transcontinental Media/The Telegram with files from CP

A cargo ship carrying a load of road salt to the French islands of St-Pierre-Miquelon capsized and sank off Newfoundland Tuesday afternoon, triggering a search for four crewmembers.

The 30-metre Cap Blanc went down 16 kilometres south of Marystown about 2 p.m. on Dec. 2, according to a spokeswoman for the search-and-rescue co-ordination centre in Halifax.

"We currently have an air search underway for the missing crew members," said Jeri Grychowski.

An empty lifeboat was found in the search area. The Cap Blanc is supposed to have two lifeboats.

Grychowski said Tuesday two Cormorant helicopters, two coast guard vessels and a Hercules aircraft were involved in the search.

She said the coast guard vessels searched through the night and that the aircraft were to resume at first light this morning.

Bruno Arantzabe, an official at the St-Pierre Port Authority, said the ship left Argentia in the middle of the night for a 12-hour voyage home. It later sank in about 130 metres of water.

Arantzabe said everyone in the French islands was concerned for the safety of the four men.

"They are all friends. It is a small community here," he said by phone from St-Pierre. "We are only 5,000 inhabitants. It is a big disaster for us."

The ship, owned by Alliances SP, is a small general cargo vessel that makes regular runs between the tiny islands and the south coast of Newfoundland.

Mike Bonin, another search-and-rescue spokesman, said an empty lifeboat was found in the search area off Marystown.