Plans to locate the wreck of cargo vessel MV Mark off Cornwall

A lifebelt from cargo vessel MV Mark was washed up after it sank

A boat skipper from Sweden plans to try to locate the wreck of a cargo vessel that sank on the same night as the Penlee Lifeboat Disaster.

The MV Mark got into difficulty off Penzance, Cornwall, on the night of 19 December 1981, resulting in six crew losing their lives.

The vessel has never been found and identified, although debris was found.

Fredrik Lunde said he hoped to find the ship and get more information for the families of its crew.

The bulk carrier, loaded with China clay, suffered engine failure and lost contact with the coastguard.

Fredrik Lunde became interested in the MV Mark after locals in Penzance told him about it

Debris including a lifebelt was washed up, with the belt now hanging on the wall in a local pub, The Dock in Penzance.

The sinking happened on the same night the Penlee lifeboat was dispatched to help the Union Star.

Newspaper reports at the time pointed out that 22 lives were lost that night - 16 from the Solomon Browne lifeboat and the coaster it had attempted to reach.

The Jorgen Amundsen is being turned into a survey vessel

Mr Lunde, who has been in Cornwall since April, said he became interested in the Mark after locals told him about it.

He said he planned to take out his converted Norwegian rescue ship, the Jorgen Amundsen, which he has been turning into a survey vessel, to examine a possible wreck site some 165ft (50m) deep, about seven nautical miles (13km) off Penzance.

Mr Lunde said reports about the sinking, weather data and a scan of the area in 2016 "fits very well" with the Mark possibly being there.

He added he had been in contact with some of the families of Mark's crew.

"It'll be very nice to give them some extra information," he said.

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