A former research ship has sunk after hitting rocks off the remote South Atlantic island group of Tristan da Cunha.
All 62 crew members have been rescued from the 1,300-dwt Geo Searcher (built 1982) near Gough Island.
The British Overseas Territory's administrator Steve Townsend said the accident happened at 1700 GMT on Thursday.
He confirmed the vessel had now sunk.
The crew were taken to the weather station on Gough Island.
South Africa has sent the government research ship SA Agulhas II to Gough Island to pick up the stranded seafarers.
The ship left Cape Town on Friday.
The majority of the crew are South African. The rescue vessel is due to arrive on 22 October.
Geo Searcher was converted to a cargo/passenger/fisheries vessel in 2016. It was employed in a dual role as a supply ship for Tristan da Cunha, a remote island in the South Atlantic, and a lobster catcher in support of the island's main industry.
Former Chief Islander Ian Lavarello was one of the fishery observers rescued from the stricken vessel.
The Geo Searcher was managed for two years, up to its conversion in Gdansk in 2016, by Poland's Vestland Marine, which told TradeWinds it was sad to hear of the loss.
No detentions
The ship has a clean port-state control record going back to 2000.
Protection and indemnity cover is with Hydor AS.
The vessel is now owned by Andrew James, managing director of Ovenstone Agencies in South Africa.
James told TradeWinds communication had been patchy with the islands, and he had no further information on what happened.
But he said the focus had been on the safety of the crew, and he confirmed all personnel were safe and well.
James said the vessel was not carrying passengers or cargo at the time. He added the ship will be replaced at some point in the future.
The company will have its pick of cheap, unwanted offshore support vessels if it chooses to go down that route again.
The 69-metre Geo Searcher made its maiden voyage to Tristan in April 2017.
The vessel was previously owned by Russia's Sartor Shipping and then Eidesvik Shipping in Norway.
The island group claims to be the world's remotest community.
