Maritime emergency callout classed as ‘false alarm’ following extensive search
7 August 2024
A large scale maritime emergency callout for a possible sinking ship off Lewis was stood down last night (Tuesday) after an extensive search.
Coastguards confirmed a “spurious detection” was responsible for the distress alert.
Once an alert is triggered, emergency services proceed on the basis human life is at risk, mobilising a large number of personnel and conducting rigorous searches over sea and coastline.
CalMac ferry, MV Loch Seaforth, received distinctive radar echoes identical to an electronic distress signal typically transmitted from a foundering vessel.
Navigating officers on the CalMac ferry - which was carrying a full load of vehicles
plus passengers - immediately swung their ship to starboard, making full speed towards
the location.
The Loch Seaforth alerted Stornoway Coastguards, and rescue services were launched.
The distress signal was picked up by the ferry at 7.30pm while she was on passage from Ullapool to Lewis.
The CalMac ship was settling onto her approach to Stornoway, about three miles off the harbour entrance, when the distress signal appeared on her radar screen as a series of dots identical to a Mayday type emergency transmission from a search and rescue radar transponder (Sart).
A Sart beacon is designed to be manually activated to provide a homing signal, helping to narrow down their position, displayed as a distinctive line of echoes or dots on nearby vessels radar monitors.
The ferry diverted 12 miles to the north, up the Point peninsula coast, beyond Tiumpan Head, and a few miles out to sea, searching the area of the strongest signal.
Stornoway RNLI lifeboat helicopter and Stornoway coastguard rescue helicopter combed the sea off Point, after searching along the coastline.
Coastguard shore rescue crews were also deployed to search on land.
As the night wore on, the coastguard helicopter and RNLI lifeboat maintained searches
on overlapping parallel tracks at sea, criss-crossing their efforts to ensure nothing
was missed.
A Stornoway Coastguard spokesperson said: “A thorough search was carried out and nothing was found.”
The incident is classed as a “spurious detection by SART (search and rescue radar transponder).”
