Three crew members aboard the heavy-lift vessel UHL Freedom were injured after the ship suffered engine problems in storm conditions in the North Sea, north of the Dutch island of Schiermonnikoog, on Sunday, October 25.
The Netherlands Coastguard said the vessel had been anchored about 29 kilometres north of the island when its anchor began dragging. The engine problems occurred as the crew weighed anchor.
In Beaufort force nine winds and five-metre waves, the disabled ship drifted and rolled heavily. There were 25 crew aboard.
The coast guard centre received the distress notification shortly before 14:00. A coast guard search and rescue (SAR) helicopter lowered an ambulance nurse onto the vessel.
It then hoisted two injured crew members and flew them to Groningen Airport Eelde, where ambulances took them to hospital.
The German Maritime Search and Rescue Service sent the rescue cruiser Hamburg from Borkum. Dutch lifeboats from Ameland, Schiermonnikoog and Eemshaven also responded.
The Dutch emergency towing vessel Guardian and the German emergency tug Nordic were dispatched.
The vessel later regained limited engine power, the coast guard said. The vessel left Bremerhaven on October 24 bound for Emden. The coastguard said the choice of port was a matter for the owner.