Ferry passengers hurt in collision

No one was seriously injured on the ferry

Seventeen people have been injured after a ferry and a container ship collided in the River Clyde.

The accident between the container ship Nordsee and the Poole Scene ferry took place off Greenock in thick fog.

The ambulance service said it had taken 20 people to Inverclyde Royal Hospital in Greenock.

Our teams are working alongside ambulance teams to ensure the safety of everyone involved in the collision

John Griffiths, Clyde Coastguard

A spokeswoman for the hospital said 17 passengers were treated there, with 16 released after treatment and one admitted with a cut leg.

"The rest were all walking wounded and the admitted patient is not seriously injured," she said.

All those hurt were among the 44 people on board the Poole Scene.

Both vessels made their way safely back to port after the accident.

Bad visibility

Conditions at the time were foggy, with visibility down to between 400 and 600 metres.

A spokesman for Clyde Coastguard said the accident had taken place at about 1030 GMT on Wednesday.

Cargo ship, the Nordsee, was involved

John Griffiths, coastguard district controller, said: "Visibility is still very poor but seas are calm.

"Our teams are working alongside ambulance teams to ensure the safety of everyone involved in the collision."

The Nordsee, a 2,500-tonne Cypriot-registered vessel which regularly sails between Greenock, Liverpool, and Southampton, had been approaching Greenock's Ocean Terminal.

The Poole Scene, a vessel based at Greenock which is used for ferrying cruise ship passengers and for regular charters in the summer months, had just departed.

Lifeboats alerted

"It was fog, and there was a collision," said coastguards.

"It could not have happened very far offshore."

Both vessels managed to return and get alongside at Greenock.

"It was all over and done with very quickly," said the coastguards.

"We alerted lifeboats and a helicopter, although there would have been great difficulties with the fog.

"But they managed to get on side, and everybody was able to get off."