Two ships collide in English Channel

LONDON -- A cargo ship carrying nearly 2,900 luxury cars capsized and sank after colliding with another cargo ship in the English Channel early Saturday. There were no injuries.

The Norwegian-registered Tricolor was resting on the bottom of the channel, but since the tide was low it was only partly submerged, the French coast guard said.

In heavy fog, the Tricolor collided with the Bahamas-registered container ship Kariba about 30 miles east of Ramsgate, southeastern England, at around 1:30 a.m., said Britain's Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

Per Ronnevig, a spokesman for the Tricolor's owners, Wilhelmsen Lines, said the ship had been carrying 2,862 cars -- high-end BMWs, Volvos and Saabs.

It picked up its cargo in Zeebrugge, Belgium and was bound for Southampton, on England's south coast, and the United States, he added. Ronnevig said the ship was worth about $40 million and its cargo up to $49 million.

Crew was saved

Ronnevig said the cargo was probably damaged beyond repair.

He added the crews of both vessels were spending the night in a hotel in Dunkirk, France and would be questioned by investigators today.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said the damaged 577-foot Kariba was heading to port in Antwerp, Belgium, with help from a Belgian warship and the French coast guard. It had originally been traveling from Antwerp to Le Havre, France.

A spokesman said the Tricolor began to list badly just after the collision and its crew of about two dozen boarded a lifeboat. Another ship brought them safely to Dunkirk, France.

Workers planned to put a barrier around the 627-foot vessel to prevent fuel spreading if it leaks, but the French coast guard said none had. Ronnevig said the ship was carrying 2,000 tons of fuel oil.

"All the lives have been saved and our action now will involve providing nautical safety around the wreck, which has settled at the bottom tilted on its port side, and on preventing pollution," said a statement from the French maritime service responsible for the English Channel and North Sea.

The statement said seas were calm but covered with a thick fog at the time of the collision.

Britain's Coastguards said the first priority was stopping the risk of pollution. The French coast guard said the accident should not interfere with shipping in the area.