A timber vessel en route from Sweden to Algeria has sunk in the Bay of Biscay.
The 17-strong Russian and Ukranian crew of The North Spirit were airlifted to safety by a Spanish rescue team after the ship listed badly about 50 miles from Cape Ortegal. It is thought the timber cargo shifted in heavy seas.
The ship is a sister vessel of the timber ship Ice Prince, which sank off Dorset in 2008, causing large amounts of Swedish wood to be washed on beaches across southern England.
It was carrying timber from Oskarhamn to Bejaia.
The North Spirit was attacked by pirates earlier this year while docked in Douala, Cameroon.
Its captain and chief engineer were kidnapped at gunpoint in May and held until their release in July.
The chief engineer, Igor Shumik, had also been one of the 15 sailors aboard the timber vessel Arctic Sea, which mysteriously “disappeared” last year.
