ALL 19 crewmen from a Greek-registered freighter were last night
feared drowned after their vessel sank in heavy seas in the Channel.
Coastguards conceded there was now ''no hope whatsoever'' of finding
the crew of the 11,000-ton Flag Theofano alive after they pinpointed the
position where they believe the ship is lying.
Senior Coastguard Bob Woodwark said an ''object'' thought to be the
wreck was found in 36ft of water 3[1/2] miles off the coastline in the
Solent. He added: ''For those seamen left in the water there is no hope
whatsoever of them being found alive.
''It is now very unsafe for divers to go into the area where we
believe the wreck to be.''
He said a special Naval helicopter with sonar equipment was flown in
from Portsmouth to ''paint a picture'' of the wreck.
A huge rescue operation involving three helicopters was organised
immediately the alarm was raised. But because of the high seas and
storms, plans to send a team of Royal Navy divers down to the wreck were
called off until first light today.
Two bodies believed to be crewmen from the ship were found off West
Wittering, Sussex, earlier yesterday, and a lifeboat bearing the Flag
Theofano's name was washed ashore at Hayling Island, Hampshire.
An oil slick, debris, lifebuoys, and air bubbles were also spotted,
about three miles off the Nab Tower, near Portsmouth.
Last night, the search for bodies was called off because of
''absolutely horrendous'' weather conditions in the Solent.
Teams of divers were expected to attempt to recover the bodies of the
17 men still unaccounted for at first light.
The crew is believed to comprise 11 Greeks, seven Maldivians and one
Egyptian.
The captain of the vessel, en route from Le Havre to Southampton with
a cargo of cement, was advised on Monday night to anchor in the eastern
end of the Solent to ride out the storm.
The last-known contact with the ship was at about 5.30pm on Monday
night, when she reported having anchored in St Helens Roads, where the
Isle of Wight would have provided some shelter.
No distress calls were picked up after that, indicating that whatever
happened was sudden and severe, and probably occurred during the night
when most of the crew were asleep.
The Flag Theofano is owned by the Golden Union Shipping Company, of
Piraeus, Greece, which last night named the master as Captain John
Pittas, 44.
A Coastguard spokesman said there were as yet no indications as to
what had happened to the ship.
Hampshire Police said they had contacted the vessel's owners and a
port captain from the company was flying to England to assist.
