A heavy-lift cargo ship got into trouble in a storm in the North Sea on Sunday afternoon, 25 October 2026. The ship is the UHL Freedom, which sails under the flag of Portugal. It was about 29 kilometres north of Schiermonnikoog, an island in the north of the Netherlands.
The trouble started at about 15:00 local time, Dutch broadcaster NOS reported. The Dutch Coastguard (Kustwacht) said the ship had a dragging anchor. This means the anchor no longer holds on the sea bottom and slides over it. The ship then drifts with the wind and waves.
There are 25 crew on board. The Coastguard and the Dutch lifeboat service KNRM first said five crew members were injured. At 16:55 the Coastguard changed this number to three, NOS reported. The authorities have not said how the crew were hurt or how badly.
How the crew were helped
A Coastguard helicopter first put a SAR nurse on board. A SAR nurse is an ambulance nurse who works with the search and rescue (SAR) helicopter. Later the helicopter lifted two injured crew members off the ship. It flew them to Groningen Airport Eelde, and ambulances took them to hospital, NOS said.
The KNRM sent lifeboats from three stations: Schiermonnikoog, Ameland and Eemshaven. Two German lifeboats also helped, the trade paper Schuttevaer reported. A Coastguard aircraft flew over the area.
Two emergency tugs were sent to the ship. They are the Guardian of the Dutch Coastguard and the German tug Nordic. The Coastguard said it would take "a few hours" before the tugs reached the ship.
The weather was very bad. The wind was force 9 on the Beaufort scale, which is a strong gale. The waves were about 4.5 metres high, the Dutch news agency ANP said.
About the ship
The UHL Freedom is almost 150 metres long. It is built to carry very heavy cargo, such as large machines or parts for wind farms. It was sailing to Emden in Germany, the newspaper De Telegraaf reported. The KNRM said there was no cargo on deck at the time.
As of about 17:10 local time on 25 October, the ship was still not under control and the tugs were on their way. Crewboard will update this story when there is more news.
What crews can learn
No cause has been given for this incident. But storms at anchor are a known danger for every ship. These general points can help:
Keep a proper anchor watch in bad weather. Check the ship's position often with GPS, radar and fixed marks, and set the anchor alarm.
Watch the weather forecast. When a gale is coming, talk with the master early about more anchor chain, keeping the engine ready, or leaving the anchorage.
If the anchor drags, tell the master, the engine room and the traffic centre (VTS) at once. Warn ships nearby on VHF.
Secure loose objects and close watertight doors before the storm. Strong rolling causes many injuries on board.
Move on deck and in the engine room only when needed. Use handrails and wear safety gear.
Know how a helicopter winch rescue works. Clear the winch area, follow the crew's signals, and never touch the winch wire before it has touched the deck or the sea.
Cover photo: The German emergency tug Nordic, one of the two tugs sent to the UHL Freedom, in August 2022. Photo: Helmut Seger/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sources: NOS: Cargo ship adrift north of Schiermonnikoog, injured crew (25 Oct 2026, in Dutch), NU.nl: Cargo ship drifts in the North Sea above Schiermonnikoog (25 Oct 2026, in Dutch), Schuttevaer: UHL Freedom drags anchor north of Schiermonnikoog (25 Oct 2026, in Dutch), De Telegraaf: Transport ship adrift near Schiermonnikoog, two injured flown off (25 Oct 2026, in Dutch).
