Cargo ship rudderless on the North Sea due to storm; Solar panels landing on cars

A cargo ship on the North Sea is having issues due to the storm. The Valday, which is 82 meters long, is drifting rudderless toward the south, the Coast Guard reported. Attempts to tie up and drag the ship have been unsuccessful.

The ship has no cargo but does have seven crew members on board, and is located 22 kilometers off the coast of Rotterdam, according to the Coastguard. Tugboats are on their way to the cargo ship. A rescue boat from the KNRM station in Stellendam will release the lifeboat from Hoek van Holland to lie nearby as a "safety vessel.”

The waves on the North Sea can go up to four meters high with a wind power of eight or nine. The Coast Guard said that other ships are also struggling because of the storm. Their engines have failed, or they did not stay at their anchorage. The Coast Guard is in contact with these ships.

Heavy winds also resulted in the collapse of a warehouse belonging to a hardware store in Groningen on Friday. Other areas in the city saw solar panels blown onto cars. A wall also moved in the city with fears that it was going to fall. This led to two stores being evacuated, a spokesperson for the Groningen Safety Region said.

The three incidents happened at 10:55 a.m. and 11:13 a.m. The first report about the warehouse collapsing on the Beckerweg came in at 10:55 a.m., a spokesperson reported. The warehouse collapsing was likely due to the strong winds. It was a part of a wholesaler of wood and building materials. No one was present when the building collapsed.

This came two minutes before emergency services were warned about a moving wall with small fragments coming off it onto the Sontplein between the Decathlon and Kwantum stores.The stores had already been evacuated, and the wall has been closed off, the spokesperson said.

Trouble then arose at 11:13 a.m. on the Oliemulderstraat. Solar panels were blowing off of one or several homes and landing on cars.

In all cases, the fire brigade secured the location and then transferred it to the owners or the municipality for further handling.