The Gelso M, an Italian-flagged tanker ran aground off the coast of Santa Panagia, Sicily this morning in stormy weather.
A report from Italian newspaper, Corriere, indicates the ship was unloaded at the time of the incident and the crew of 19 was rescued via helicopter at around 9AM local time. The weather is abating slowly, however forecasts still indicate winds out of the ENE of around 25-30 knots (30-35mph) throughout the night.
“The helicopters had to fly because of the terrible weather under critical circumstances, but now the crew is safe,” said Coast Guard officer Filippo Marini, to TV channel Sky TG24.
The ship was enroute from Venice to the Sicilian port of Augusta, no further details regarding possible causes are yet available.
![surface wind analysis mediterranean]( "Picture 2")
In this surface wind analysis from 1200UTC on 10 March, the low pressure can be clearly seen centered south of Sicily, with strong easterlies directly east of Sicily.
The track of the Gelso M before running aground, via MarineTraffic