British ship runs into rough Baltic seas

A British merchant vessel, in trouble in rough seas in the Baltic, was escorted to safety by Swedish and Latvian rescuers, authorities said. The crew of the Scot Isles sent out a distress call at about 8 a.m. Monday, the Swedish news agency TT reported. At the time, the vessel was close to the Swedish island of Gotland. The ship, with seven crew members onboard was listing heavily, Kristoffer Bjork, a Sea Rescue spokesman, told Hela Gotland, a news website for the island. A rescue helicopter was sent from Visby and remained on the scene until a Swedish Coast Guard ship arrived. The Scot Isles captain decided to return to Latvia and turned down an offer to evacuate his vessel. The Swedish Coast Guard escorted the Scot Isles into Latvian waters, where Latvian rescue ships took over.