SHIPPING: Search ends for Cyprus ship’s crew off Scottish coast

British maritime officials said the eight crew members of a cargo ship that capsized and sank in the North Sea off the coast of Scotland are presumed dead.

Authorities said on Monday that the search for the seven Polish crew members and one Filipino of the Cyprus-registered cement carrier Cemfjord has been called off.
Tony Redding, spokesman for the German ship-management company Brise based in Hamburg, said investigators would look for "abnormalities," but the only irregularity seems to have been "severe weather."
The upturned hull of the Cemfjord was spotted on Saturday by a passing ferry in the Pentland Firth some 15 nautical miles from Wick on the northeast tip of Scotland and a major search operation was launched.
Four lifeboats, two rescue helicopters and other vessels were involved in the search for the crew coordinated by Shetland Coastguard.
The RNLI tweeted: "Our thoughts are with the crew of the upturned cargo ship, their family, friends and all those involved in today's search operation."
The 83-metre bulk cement carrier was on its way to Runcorn in Cheshire on the English west coast when it encountered trouble in the Pentland Firth. No distress signal had been made.