Maltese flagged gas tanker, trawler collide

A gas tanker and a trawler crashed into each other in the Channel off the coast of Normandy yesterday, according to French maritime authorities.

The Maltese-registered Manas and the French trawler Saint-Jacques II collided for unknown reasons at 1.40am 37 nautical miles (70 kilometres) north of the French town of Fecamp.

A French fisheries patrol vessel escorted the trawler and its six crewmen safely back to Boulogne.

Although forced to a halt immediately after the accident, the 135-metre tanker was not significantly damaged and will be inspected on its return to Rotterdam. French authorities have launched an investigation.