weather in the southwest part of the Bay of Biscay in November.

Mr. Don McPherson of John S. Darrell Ltd. reports the ship went down on November 24 with the loss of eight of her 12 crew.

"The latest reports from Lloyd's List indicate there were four survivors, three bodies recovered and five missing,'' he said.

"The crew is usually made up of Danish officers with Filipino deck crew. I have since been told there were no officers among the survivors.'' It is not precisely clear what happened to the 282-foot ship.

The only communication at source was a distress broadcast saying: "We are sinking. Latitude 44 19.19N, longitude 15 29.67W. We have four metres of water in the cargo hold.'' A listening station in Cape Finisterre received the distress call. A Force 7-8 gale was blowing when the ship sank. Reported conditions included 50 knot sustained winds and 24-foot seas.

Early news reports said the 1,599-ton vessel was in trouble 280 miles off the coast.

Charm was last in Bermuda on August 27 to deliver 807 rolls of newsprint for The Royal Gazette .

She was one of several vessels owned by the Danish company Mortensen & Lange, which is represented locally by John S. Darrell Ltd. It is believed the company's senior captain was the ship's master at the time of her sinking.

The company has regularly delivered newsprint to the Island from Canada. Charm was in Bermuda on at least two occasions previous to her August visit.

Mr. MacPherson said of the incident: "I was shocked and saddened to hear that the Danish MV Charm sank in heavy weather.

"Needless to say any loss of life at sea is a tragedy. But when such incidents involve ships and crew with whom we have had direct contact, there is an even deeper sense of sorrow. Our thoughts go out to the families of the officers and crew and to their colleagues in Mortensen & Lange.''