Panamax freighter Marion, which relayed it to the Soviet freighter Marya Yermolova and the German tug boat Titan. MS München gave her position as , which was probably around off her real position. The messages were transmitted in Morse code and only parts of them were received. One fragment received was 50 degrees starboard, which could be interpreted as a 50-degree list to starboard. Automatic emergency signals were also received by multiple radio stations starting at 04:43. No further calls were recorded after 07:34, probably because US stations stopped listening on the frequency 2182 kHz. At 17:30 on December 12, international search and rescue operations were initiated and co-ordinated throughout by HM Coastguard at Land's End, Cornwall. Wind speeds of 11-12 Beaufort were reported in the area of the search, hampering efforts. The initial search requested by HMCG was by a Royal Air Force Hawker Siddeley Nimrod maritime reconnaissance aircraft, co-ordinated by SRCC RAF Mount Batten. Initial search efforts and further communications The next day, December 13, an additional Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft from Germany and six ships searched for München. At 09:06 Michael F. Sinnot, a Belgian radio amateur in Brussels, received a voice transmission on the unusual frequency 8238.4 kHz, which is usually used by a radio station at Norddeich in Germany. The transmission was clear but interrupted by some noise, and contained fragments of Münchens name and callsign. Later in court, Sinnot reported that the voice was calm and spoke in English but with a distinct German accent. Since Sinnot only had a receiver for this frequency, he relayed the message via telex to a radio station in Ostend. Between 17:00 and 19:14, ten weak Mayday calls were received by the US Naval Station Rota, Spain at regular intervals, mentioning "28 persons on board". The messages may have been recorded and sent automatically. Münchens call sign, 'DEAT', which was sent in Morse code, was received three times on the same frequency. The Dutch ocean-going salvage tug Smit Rotterdam, which was returning from other Mayday calls in the Gulf of Breton and the English Channel, received the calls as well and went to the designated position under the command of Captain PF de Nijs. Lands End CG provided the search planning and areas to be covered and appointed the salvage tug Smit Rotterdam as Onscene Commander co-ordinating the activities of eventually more than 100 ships and also the