The owners of a cement carrier that sank in mysterious circumstances a year ago today have said their thoughts remain with the families of the eight men killed.
The Cemfjord was last recorded travelling west through the Pentland Firth separating the mainland and Orkney on January 2 last year.
Its upturned hull was discovered by a passing ferry a day later.
The eight crew have never been found and the wreck, which is lying on the seabed at 270ft below sea level has been declared a sea grave.
No formal remembrance services were due to be held to mark the anniversary of the disaster, though the ship’s owners Brise of Hamburg said that the families of the may have held private services.
Seven of the ship’s crew were from Poland with the eighth from the Phillipines.
A detailed underwater survey was undertaken in the weeks following the loss of the ship by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), though the outcome of their investigation has not
yet been made public.
Last night Brise spokesman Tony Redding said: “During 2015 we have co-operated fully with the MAIB investigation involving Cemfjord and we are now awaiting their report.
“As we reach the first anniversary since the tragic accident our thoughts are all with the families of those who lost our lives.”
The families of the eight sailors made a poignant visit to the site where the boat sank in a visit to Caithness in July last year.
A spokeswoman for the MAIB confirmed that their investigation remains ongoing.
The sinking of the Cemfjord remains mysterious, with no distress signal ever received from the stricken ship and electronic devices which should have alerted the coastguard not having
activated.
Little is known of the findings of the two MAIB underwater surveys carried out, although it is understood that the only damage found on the vessel was caused by it coming to rest on the
seabed.
The crew were master Pawel Chruscinski, 43; chief officer Jaroslaw Orlov, 45; chief engineer Roman Tamas, 56; and seamen Henryk Dubanowski, 55; Tomasz Kwiatkowski, 31; Artur Podrazka, 24; and Artur Wegorek, also 24; all from Poland. The eighth member of the crew was Filipino seaman Jerome Narvasa, 32.