Drifting cargo ship nearly hits two North Sea gas platforms

Drifting cargo ship nearly hits two North Sea gas platforms A 4,500-deadweight-ton general cargo ship Thursday narrowly avoided two North Sea gas platforms as it drifted in severe weather conditions with 50-knot winds and a seven-meter swell.
   The vessel 'Vindo' suffered engine failure about 75 miles off the East Coast of England Thursday afternoon, and only regained power about one mile from ConocoPhillips' Murdoch gas platform, east of Theddlethorpe St Helen.
   The Royal Air Force airlifted all 30 staff from the Murdoch structure by helicopter as a precaution.
   The nine-man crew of the vessel had managed to restart its engines temporarily and slipped the anchor to avoid damage to gas pipelines, but soon after the vessel again lost power and began drifting towards the unmanned Caister platform. This time the ship only cleared the platform by about 650 meters (2,132 feet).
   At about 9 a.m. GMT this morning a rescue tug reached the 'Vindo' to tow it to safety towards the Humber.
   The same vessel was involved in another incident off the U.K. coast in September, when crashed into another cargo vessel en route from Finland to Spain, after failing to respond to radio messages.