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The West German freighter Emsstein, of Bremen registry, lists and burns in the St. Clair River after collision with the Panamanian vessel Olympic Pearl yesterday. Coast Guard plays hose on the vessel after 12Lwere rescued. / s Mystery ship reported in St. Clair collision* Special to The Globe and Mail SARNIA — A small ship passed between two sea-going freighters just before they collided in the St. Clair River on Thursday night, eyewitnesses claimed yesterday. Canadian and U.S. officials who are investigating the col- lision said they had not heard of the report about a third vessel. Meanwhile, the Olympic Pear], a 576-foot Liberian freighter, left the collision scene for Montreal with a deep gash in the bow well above the waterline. --------'——---------------- The The other ship, the 393-foot West German freighter Emsstein, was aground in the river in Canadian waters where the master, Rudolf Prokesch, had beached it to prevent it from sinking. Nineteen men were rescued from the Emsstein after it Emsstein, id of ill ;1- Burned Liner / Back In Port HAMBURG (AP) - The West German liner Hanseatic damas. ed by a fire in-feT ?orkh!?-bor Sept. 7, returned to ifs home port yesterday after a two-week voyage in the tow of two ocean-going tugs. Shipping officials said the 30,030-tarTlin-er will undergo a thorough in-spection at the Howaldt shl> ™ , .?fu0re.a decision is made on whether it should be repair owned oy North German Lloyd, was headed north with a load of general cargo. The Olympic Pearl, owned by Olympic Maritime of Monte-Carlo, was headed south with a load of grain. The ships collided midway in the 35-mile-long river linking Lake Huron and Lake St. Clair. The port side of the Emss-tein's bow was ripped "all the way back — it was wide open," a Michigan state police officer said. Coast Guard fire-boats controlled the flames confining it to a hold in the starboard bow. The Coast Guard permitted the Olympic Pearl to proceed for Montreal where it will stop for repairs. caught fire in the collision. Mrs. W. H. Waybrant, who lives in a riverside home near where the collision occurred, about 14 miles south of Sarnia, said she and her sister-in-law, Mrs. Jack Waybrant, had a front-row seat for the mishap. Both women said they say a small vessel, possible a lake freighter, go between the two larger ships. "The bigger ship (Olympic Pearl) blew its whistle several times as the smaller ship (Emsstein) began to turn to make the curve of the river," Mrs. W. H. Waybrant said. "After the third ship passed, the little one appeared to cross in front of the bigger one and the crash occurred." Cmdr. Robert T. Chirnside of the U.S. Coast Guard said the report was a surprise to him. "If this is the case, I am sure it will be looked into," he said, adding that as far as the U.S. Coast Guard was concerned, the matter was a Canadian investigation.