LONDON, Dec. 14 - A Norwegian-registered ship carrying 2,862 cars sank in the North Sea early Saturday morning. The freight vessel, the Tricolor, collided with a container ship in thick fog. The cargo of vehicles from Volvo, Saab, and BMW were valued at 50 million US dollars, according to the Reuters news agency.
The ship's journey had started in Gothenburg where Volvos and SAABs were loaded onto the ship. It had made a stop in Zeebrugge, Belgium, where it had loaded more Volvos and also BMWs. It then headed for Southampton, UK, to load some more vehicles. The final destination was the United States. About 1800 Volvo cars were on board, 350 of which were 2003 Volvo XC90s.
All 24 crew members were rescued after the collision, in the early morning hours at the entrance of the Dover Strait between Britain and France, in waters approximately 82 feet deep.
"The cars were insured. However, it is never a good thing when an accident of this nature takes place. Somebody always suffers," says Olle Axelson, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs. Volvo is doing everything possible to make delivery to customers awaiting cars as soon as possible.Accidents seldom seem to happen singly. On Monday morning, thick fog once again blanketed the English Channel and a German ship rammed the sunken hull of the Tricolor. It took 6 hours to pull the German vessel clear of the wreckage, according to reports from CNN Europe.No personal injuries or oil leaks have been reported in either incident.
