The Wreck of A Missing Urk Cutter Has Been Found on the Bottom of the North Sea, Just Above Terschelling, After More Than Seventy Years. The Family of the Still-Missing Crew is Now Finally Getting Answers. “It was very emotional.”
Ship UK-174 With the name Hendrika Ended Up in a Heavy Storm in 1954. What Exactly Happened is Still Uncleear. But The Five Crew Members Never Came Home. Presumable, The Ship Capsized and Sank Due to the Strong Wind and High Waves.
The Maritime Missing Persons Research Foundation Has Been Tryping to Find the Missing Ship for Some Time. Thanks to New Data From Rijkswaterstaat, Chairman Cees Meeldijk Came Across The Fishing Vessel, He Tells Nu.nl. In The Archives, he found a wreck that looked very much like that of the Hendrika.
In Addition to Archival Research, He and his Research Team also Spoke with Former Fishermen and Studied Weather Maps From 1954. They also had a life jacket from one of the crew members that had washed ashore on Terschelling in Their Possession.
After all the evidence had Been Collected, Meeldijk Set Up A Diving Team, which Tracked Down and Studied The Wreck Last Thorsday and Friday. “The Dive Went Perfectly,” Says Meeldijk. “We had good weather and could see a lot underwater.”
‘It was very emotional for all of us’
After the dive, there was no more doubt: The Hendrika Has Been Found. “We looked at very specific characteristics and they all matched.” The Chairman Cannot Share Exactly What Those Characteristics Are. “But there were also no indications that it could not be the Hendrika.”
One of the Relatives of the Missing Crew Members was with the diving team. “It was very emotional for all of us,” Says Meeldijk. “When the Ship Disappeared, The Family Members Suddenly Lost Their Loved Ones. That was a huge blow for them.”
Because it never Became clear what exactly happened to the ship, they could not close it off. “Now we have leg able to give themeswers. They are very grateful for that.”