The German Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre has confirmed it has called off its search for four missing crew members of the Manx registered ship 'Verity' after it crashed with another vessel in the North Sea earlier this week.

'Verity' (IMO number 9229178) sunk on Tuesday (October 24) following the collision off the coast of Germany, with the Isle of Man Ship Registry being informed of this at 7:25am.

A statement from the Isle of Man Government read: 'Following the collision between the Isle of Man registered ship Verity and the Bahamian registered Polesie that occurred on October 24, the Isle of Man Ship Registry is saddened to confirm that the German Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre has called off its search and rescue operations and, despite the best efforts of all involved, four crew members remain unaccounted for.

'The two surviving crew members remain in hospital, with a further crew member sadly confirmed deceased.

'The Ship Registry’s thoughts are with the seafarers that sailed on board the Verity, their families, friends and loved ones.

'The Ship Registry wish to thank all of those who have been involved in the search and rescue efforts over the past few days. The team will continue to work with the relevant authorities in the ongoing investigations being conducted by the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB).'

The Isle of Man registered cargo ship sailed from the German port of Bremen at 8pm (local time) on October 23, with seven crew members on board.

At approximately 4am, the Verity was involved in a collision with the Bahamian registered bulk carrier 'Polesie', and following the collision the Verity sank while the Polesie remained afloat.

This incident occurred in the sea area known as 'German Bight', and the collision occurred south west of the island of Heligoland.