2 ships collide in icebreaking lane in Southern coast

Two freighters collided on ice-covered sea east of Helsinki on Sunday, the Finnish coast guard reported.

The ships were moving from the east to the west in a lane opened by an icebreaker. The first ship sailing under the Netherlands' flag got stuck in the ice and the following ship, under Panamanian flag, could not halt soon enough.

In the collision, the Panamanian-flagged ship incurred damage above the water level. The damage could be repaired at sea. There were no injuries reported.

The Finnish coast guard sent a patrol boart and surveillance aircraft to the location.

The collision occurred at 10 a.m. local time (8 am GMT) south of the Kalbadagrund isle, in international waters, within the Finnish maritime rescue area.

The coast guard said the ships carried no such cargo that would have caused a hazard in the event of a leak. But it was not reported what cargo was on board.

Jani Ratinen, the rescue director at the Gulf of Finland coast guard, told a Finnish language newspaper Helsingin Sanomat that formation of ice has been intense this winter.

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