British Tanker Sinks Off Iceland, Killing 12 Crewmen

A British tanker, the Syneta, ran onto a rock off the east coast of Iceland early Friday and sank, killing all 12 crewmen, Iceland’s National Rescue Organization said.

It was the second fatal sinking of a ship in the North Atlantic in as many days.

An Icelandic freighter, the Sudurland, sank midway between Iceland and Norway on Thursday. Five crewmen were rescued by a Danish helicopter, three were killed and three more were missing and presumed dead.

Shipping disasters were not confined to the North Atlantic as at least three crewmen drowned when a Cypriot vessel went down off Sardinia, authorities said Friday.

In the disaster off Iceland, the 1,260-ton Syneta sent a Mayday distress call saying it had run aground and couldn’t launch any of its life rafts because the tanker was too close to a steep, rocky outcrop.

Apparently Jumped

The crew of 12--six Britons and six Cape Verde Islanders--apparently jumped into the sea when the ship began to sink, said Rescue Organization spokesman Johannes Briem.

The rescuers recovered six bodies, all in life jackets. Two other bodies slipped out of their life jackets and sank as the searchers tried to pull them aboard trawlers. Rescuers later found a life raft torn to shreds, a spokesman said.

One crewman was found alive, but he died shortly afterward, Briem said. The other three crewmen were missing and presumed dead though the search by hundreds of volunteers continued.

The 284-foot ship was purchased by Syndicate Tankships Ltd. of Gibraltar in October, 1985, and is managed by Haggerstone Marine Ltd. of Hornchurch outside London, said managing agent Gordon Haggerstone.

The Syneta was empty when it left the English port of Liverpool on Dec. 20 for Eskifjordur on the east coast of Iceland to pick up 1,100 tons of fish liver oil. “She had been due to . . . return via Rotterdam and Dunkirk,” Haggerstone said.

Good Weather

The Syneta ran aground in relatively good weather on Skrudur rock, a 531-foot high outcrop at the mouth of the Faskrudsfjordur fjord, he said.

Capt. Hannas Hafstein of the Icelandic Lifesaving Assn. said: “It’s high and it’s straight and the ship ran aground on the southern part of it. We can’t understand why she sailed right into it.”

The ship hit the rock at its northeast corner and was only a few yards from passing it safely, said Ingolfur Fridgeirsson, who was overseeing the rescue effort from Eskifjordur.

Briem said the crew gave an incorrect position 10 miles north of Skrudur rock in the Mayday distress call. He said rescuers found the tanker after seeing a distress rocket flare fired by the crew.

No Sign of Crew

The first of 12 fishing boats got to the scene 30 minutes later. It found the ship nearly capsized and saw no sign of the crew, Briem said.

The first body was found floating in the sea an hour and 10 minutes later. A few minutes later another crewmen was spotted showing signs of life but he died shortly afterwards in a fishing boat, Briem said.

Meanwhile, a fierce gale off the coast of Sardinia on Christmas Day claimed the lives of at least three crewmen aboard the Cypriot freighter Stainless Trader when it sank about 20 miles offshore. Port authorities in Cagliari, Sardinia, reported five other crewmen were missing and believed drowned in the mishap.

Ten other crewmen, including the freighter’s captain, were plucked from the sea by air and naval rescue teams after clinging to life rafts for several hours, authorities said.

The 16,000-ton Stainless Trader sank Christmas night during a moderately strong gale. Port authorities said the ship may have sprung a leak after part of its cargo shifted in the heavy seas, loosening rivets in the hull.