OCEANUS

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No trace of missing aircraft MS804 found by ships on scene

The "Oceanus", being involved in search and rescue efforts for the missing aircraft of Egyptair in the Mediterranean Sea since May 19, 2016, saw no debris or fuel at the site of the last electronic signal received from missing flight MS804. The search continued as reports of wreckage found off Karpathos were retracted in the night. Capt A. Rotashnyuk of the ultramax Oceanus, the first ship on scene, did not find traces of fuel nor debris. Some objects were discovered, including a blanket, a canister and pieces of plastic, but it was not known if they were from the missing Airbus. The "Oceanus" has been in position since 6 a.m., and will remain at the spot for the time being after having been diverted from its course on the voyage from Odessa to Damietta. A number of other vessels, both merchant and military, including Egyptian, French and Greek warships, had also joined the search. The Mediterranean Shipping Co confirmed that the "MSC Caitlin" and "MSC Beatrice", which had been in an area between Crete and Rhodes, joined the search. The “MSC Beatrice" began its support of the efforts just after 0630 a.m. was subsequently stood down at 0930 a.m. The "MSC Caitlin" began its support at 06.20 a.nm. and was still involved with the search. Maersk has also revealed the " Maersk Stadelhorn" was already in the area. The Royal Navy vessel RFA "Lyme Bay", which was operating south-east of Crete, arrived in the vicinity of the plane's last known location late on May 19. The Airbus A320-200 was flying from Paris Charles de Gaulle in France to Cairo in Egypt with 56 passengers and 10 crew on board when it vanished in the early hours of May 19. SAR teams picked up an emergency locator transmitter signal from a suspected crash site and asked merchant vessels for assistance. The data revealed the aircraft was flying at 37,000 feet over the Mediterranean, about 130 miles north of Alexandria in Egypt and about 210 miles north-northwest of Cairo when the transponder signals ceased at 2.33 a.m. local time. The master of a merchant ship reported earlier seeing a flame in the sky around 130 miles south of the island of Karpathos, but Capt. Rotashnyuk of the "Oceanus" said he had not witnessed that personally.