The discovery of the Cemfjord’s upturned hull started one of the biggest operations in years for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
Officers received a report on Saturday afternoon that the Northlink ferry, MV Hrossey, had spotted the hull of a boat bobbing in the North Sea.
The ferry was making its way to Aberdeen from Shetland with 241 passengers on board – a journey which had already been delayed that morning due to bad weather – when crew members spotted an unusual object in the water in the distance.
As the MV Hrossey drew closer, the gravity of the situation became obvious, as the sight of a giant vessel completely upturned came into focus.
There was no sign of life rafts, nor survivors.
Four RNLI crews from Wick, Thurso, Longhope and Stromness were dispatched to the scene of the sighting, about 11 miles east of Pentland Skerries and 15 miles north-east of Wick.
They were assisted by the coastguard rescue helicopter from Shetland, an RAF rescue helicopter and coastguard rescue teams from Kirkwall, St Margaret’s Hope, Duncansby, Scrabster and Wick.
HMS Somerset and its helicopter also joined the search, while the Hrossey stayed in the area looking for survivors and keeping watch over the stricken ship.
Later Brise of Hamburg, the German-based managers of the Cemfjord, confirmed seven Polish crew members and a Filipino had been on board.
“No distress call was received from the vessel,” a spokesman said.
Last night the MCA confirmed a second day of searching had been suspended with no sign of the missing crew.
A spokeswoman said: “The lifeboats completed their search areas earlier this afternoon and returned to shore. The helicopter, coastguard rescue teams, fixed wing aircraft and HMS Somerset continued to search but sadly, by last light this evening nothing was found.
“The families of the missing crew have been notified. The Coastguard will continue to broadcast messages to all shipping requesting that they are informed about any information or sightings that could be related to the vessel.”
Andrew Ashton, RNLI divisional operations manager, said: “This has been a challenging operation for all our RNLI volunteers and the other rescue organisations involved and our thoughts are very much with the missing men and their families at this time.”