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'Grave concern' for missing yacht Missing vessel located off Orkney
(about 13 hours later)
A search is under way for a Polish yacht carrying seven crew members which has failed to arrive in Aberdeen. A Polish yacht which went missing on its way to Aberdeen carrying seven crew has been found off the Orkney islands.
The coastguard said the Syrenka was expected to arrive in the city earlier in the day after leaving Iceland. A search was launched for the Syrenka, when it failed to arrive in Aberdeen on Saturday after leaving Iceland.
A relief crew waiting to join the 46ft (14m) yacht has expressed "grave concerns" that it has failed to make contact. The 46ft (14m) yacht, which is suffering engine problems, had communications restored before midnight on Saturday.
Coastguards in the Faroes, Iceland, Stornoway and Shetland are all trying to make radio contact. All those on board are safe and the vessel was being towed into harbour by a lifeboat from Stromness, Orkney.
A spokesman for Aberdeen Coastguard said they were trying to alert all shipping and harbours throughout the area. Coastguards in the Faroes, Iceland, Stornoway and Shetland had all tried to make radio contact.
They have also alerted some of the offshore oil industry off Shetland and raised the alert level to Pan Pan, which is one level below Mayday. A relief crew expressed "grave concerns" that the yacht had failed to make contact.
Alarm raised
Before the vessel was found a spokesman for Aberdeen Coastguard said they were trying to alert all shipping and harbours throughout the area.
They also alerted some of the offshore oil industry off Shetland and raised the alert level to Pan Pan, which is one level below Mayday.
The yacht was believed to have left the Icelandic port of Keflavik last Sunday.The yacht was believed to have left the Icelandic port of Keflavik last Sunday.
'Large area'
The last time it made contact was when one of the crew members called his sister in Poland using a mobile phone when it was just south of Iceland on Monday.The last time it made contact was when one of the crew members called his sister in Poland using a mobile phone when it was just south of Iceland on Monday.
The alarm was raised by a family member of one of the crew at about 1200 BST when the Syrenka failed to appear.The alarm was raised by a family member of one of the crew at about 1200 BST when the Syrenka failed to appear.
The coastguard said that communication is key in the effort to find the vessel, which could be anywhere in a 200,000 square mile area of sea. The coastguard had said communication was key in the effort to find the vessel, which could have been anywhere in a 200,000 square mile area of sea.
There were no details of the yacht's planned passage left behind and it is not known if it was due to stop at other islands, like the Faroes, on the way.
Hamish Young, watch assistant at the Aberdeen Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, said: "Currently we are continuing our attempts to make contact with the vessel and obtain information about its location.
"However, sea and weather conditions are varied at best over such a large area and getting a response may prove difficult."