Abandoned ship sinks

The Maystar, a cargo ship that had been abandoned by its crew earlier this week, finally succumbed to the sea and sank at 9.55 p.m. on Thursday.

The 88-metre long Cambodian-registered bulk carrier, carrying a cargo of wood, went down 34 nautical miles south east of Malta after breaking its towline while being towed back to Malta.

It had been abandoned 26 nautical miles off the coast on Monday as it listed dangerously to starboard. Although it looked like it would sink, a tugboat began towing it towards Malta on Tuesday.

The Malta Maritime Authority said the ship broke its towline on Thursday afternoon because of the adverse weather conditions and was drifting 29 miles east of Delimara, outside Maltese territorial waters.