A red buoy marks the spot where the cargo ship "Baltic Ace" sank in the North Sea after colliding with a car carrier, December 5.

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NEW: Search is called off for crew members missing after a ship collision Wednesday evening

NEW: Passing ships have been told to be on the lookout, Netherlands Coast Guard says

Thirteen people are rescued; seven are missing

The Baltic Ace began sinking immediately after the collision

CNN  — 

The search for the missing crew members from a North Sea cargo ship collision has been called off Thursday afternoon, the Netherlands Coast Guard said in a statement.

The search will not be resuming and passing ships have been told to be on the lookout, the Netherlands Coast Guard said.

At least four people are dead and seven others missing after a container vessel collided with a car carrier Wednesday evening, the Netherlands Coast Guard said.

The carrier Baltic Ace began sinking immediately after it collided with the container vessel at 7:15 p.m. (1:15 p.m. ET), 60 kilometers (32 miles) west of Rotterdam, said Coast Guard P.R. Manager Peter Verburg.

Thirteen crew members were rescued. Four were taken to Rotterdam Hospital, seven to the Koksijde Air Base near Ostend, Belgium, and two were still aboard another vessel, he said.

Those rescued were suffering from hypothermia and minor injuries, he said.

The nationality of the crew was not immediately known.

The Baltic Ace had been en route from Zeebrugge, Belgium, to Kotka, Finland; the container vessel was en route from Grangemouth, Britain, to Antwerp, Belgium.