Syneta

Syneta

A British tanker, the Syneta, ran aground on a rock off Iceland’s east coast early Friday, sinking and killing all 12 crewmen, Iceland’s National Rescue Organization reported. The incident marked the second fatal sinking in the North Atlantic in two days. In the Syneta disaster, the 1,260-ton ship sent a Mayday call stating it had run aground and couldn’t launch its life rafts due to the steep, rocky outcrop. The 12 crew members, six Britons and six Cape Verde Islanders, apparently jumped into the sea as the ship began to sink. Rescuers found six bodies, all wearing life jackets, while two slipped from their jackets and sank. The 284-foot Syneta, managed by Haggerstone Marine Ltd., had left Liverpool on Dec. 20 to pick up fish liver oil in Eskifjordur. It ran aground in good weather on Skrudur rock, near Faskrudsfjordur. The ship hit the northeast corner of the rock and nearly passed it safely, said Ingolfur Fridgeirsson, rescue overseer. The tanker’s incorrect distress position complicated rescue efforts.