River collision inquiry launched

The Nordsee made it back unaided

Investigations have begun after 17 people were injured in a collision involving a ferry and a cargo container.

The incident on Wednesday on the River Clyde in Glasgow occurred in dense fog and sub-zero temperatures.

The Nordsee, a small container ship, and the Poole Scene, a private charter ferry, collided in bad visibility at about 1030GMT.

Surveyors are on board investigating the damage, and the Marine Accident Investigation Branch are on their way

Greenock coastguard

Both vessels were able to make it unaided to the nearby port of Greenock, where ambulances ferried the injured to hospital.

Nineteen people, all from the ferry carrying 41 passengers and three crew, were taken to Inverclyde Royal Hospital in Greenock where 17 were given treatment, mostly for minor injuries.

One casualty was being detained with leg cuts.

Coastguards at Greenock said: "Surveyors are on board investigating the damage, and the Marine Accident Investigation Branch are on their way."

A spokesman added that both vessels would have been equipped with radar.

The Nordsee, a 2,500 tonne Cypriot-registered vessel, was on its way to dock at Greenock, one of its stops on a regular run shipping whisky and electronic goods between the Clyde, the Mersey and Southampton.

Private party

The Poole Scene, which acts as a ferry for cruise ship passengers and is also regularly used for private charters, was leaving Greenock with a private party on board when the collision happened.

Coastguards alerted lifeboats and helicopters for a possible rescue mission but they were not needed.

Early reports that one of the vessels began to take on water after the collision were later dismissed.

The container ship was said to have a score mark along her starboard side, while the Poole Scene had also suffered minor damage.

Clyde Port Authority said the container ship was on charter to the authority.

"Police and the maritime safety agency are investigating, and it would be inappropriate for us to comment," said an authority spokesman.