Yacht Carrying 3 Dutch Nationals Missing In The North Sea

<p>STONEHAVEN, SCOTLAND (BNO NEWS) -- A boat carrying three Dutch crew members has been reported missing after failing to arrive in Norway after departing Scotland's northeastern coast earlier this month, British officials said on Monday, just weeks after the same boat had to be rescued in rough seas.

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<p>The 15-meter (49-foot) vessel originally sailed from the Netherlands with eight crew members on board before making stops at Middlesborough in northeast England and Stonehaven on Scotland's northeastern coast. Five of the crew members disembarked in the Scottish town.

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<p>The boat, named 'Warnow', departed Stonehaven on April 15 with the three remaining crew members and was expected to arrive in Norway on April 22, but the vessel failed to arrive and the crew has not been heard from since they began their trip. The alarm was raised on Monday when a concerned Dutch national called the Aberdeen Coastguard.

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<p>The Dutch-flagged vessel is described as a former steel-hulled pilot boat with a black hull and white cabin. "The vessel has been converted to have a mast and sails," a spokesperson for the UK's Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said, urging anyone with information to contact the Aberdeen coastguard.

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<p>'Warnow' was also at the center of a rescue operation on March 23, when the yacht got into difficulty near the English town of Whitby while going from the Netherlands to Scotland. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) at the time said it found the vessel experiencing engine trouble in rough seas with no steering.

</p> <p> (Copyright 2013 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: [email protected].) </p>