After an Isle of Wight owned cargo ship was involved in a collision in the north sea, an initial search by divers trying to find Verity's missing crew members has been 'unsuccessful', say the German authorities.
Four people are unaccounted for after the 91m ship collided with a larger vessel and sank off the coast of Germany, at around 5am.
The collision also involved the Bahamas-flagged Polesie and happened in the ‘German Bight’, southwest of the German-owned Heligoland islands.
Seven people were onboard East Cowes-based Faversham Shipping's Verity.
Read more: Isle of Wight owned Verity cargo ship collision LIVE updates
One crewman is confirmed to have died and two others have been taken to hospital. Four people are missing.
Search leaders launched a diving operation at 3.15pm (4.15pm BST), to look for signs of life in the hull.
The German Central Command for Maritime Emergencies has confirmed the search was unsuccessful, hampered by strong currents, which initially made further attempts ‘impossible’.
Visibility has been only one to two metres.
Read more: Isle of Wight-owned Verity cargo ship sinks leaving one dead
Above, Verity's route today. Below, Verity at Medina Wharf in Cowes, on the River Medina, by Richard Joliffe.
A search spokesperson said: “The difficult conditions currently do not allow any prediction as to whether another attempt is possible.”
Airspace over the site is closed for a 10 nautical mile radius and a number of search and rescue aircraft have been over the collision site.
According to the German Central Command for Maritime Emergencies, Polesie's 22 crew members were uninjured.
The Polesie is 190m in length and 29m in width, compared to Verity's 91m by 14m wide.
A spokesperson from DGzRS (German Maritime Search and Rescue Service) told the Isle of Wight County Press: "We don’t know how the people that were missing were equipped.
“Did they have a coat, a protective suit, a life vest? Were they out only in their pyjamas? We don’t know.”
“We try to assume they have been equipped in the best way possible. With this, you can work out, maybe, how long someone would survive in these conditions.
“The search is continuing. We have six vessels conducting search patterns with other ships from the coastguard, police, and merchant vessels, trying to race against time.
“The light is going; the sun is setting. It is not getting better, but hope is not gone.”
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