Six crew members of a Norwegian freighter were feared drowned Friday while an oil spill threatened southern Norway following two Baltic shipping accidents in stormy seas, according to dpa. The Norwegian freighter, the 70-metre-long Langeland, had sent out distress signals overnight, but the rescue operations center in the Swedish city of Goteborg said search teams had only found empty emergency rafts and swimming vests in the Kattegat sound. The Langeland was carrying a cargo of stones heading for the Norwegian port of Moss when it sent out a satellite distress signal, reporting stormy sea conditions and saying it was capsizing. An oil spill was meanwhile threatening southern Norway after a Panama-registered freighter ran aground overnight, Norwegian officials reported. Regional authorities in the southern province of Telemark said diesel spilling from the 167-metre-long Full City was approaching the town of Langesund. The vessel, with a crew of 23 Chinese seamen, suffered engine failure and then ran aground in stormy conditions in the Skagerrak sound. The Full City was carrying 1,100 tons of oil. Except for an emergency crew of six left on board, all other crew members were evacuated, while Norwegian officials sounded the alarm to try to prevent an oil catastrophe.
