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17 Bayhead St

Stornoway, Lewis

 

 

Fishermen rescued from sinking boat                   6/8/11

Three fishermen quickly abandoned their sinking trawler in the middle of the night.

The skipper of the Northern Irish flagged Vellee radioed an urgent Mayday alert on Channel 16 and the men donned lifejackets and jumped into a liferaft in the middle of the Minch at 1am today.

He reported the 103 tonne, 20-year-old boat was taking water on rapidly and they were preparing to abandon ship.

The 20-metre fishing boat soon sank about six miles east of Benbecula - midway between the Western Isles and Skye.

The Stornoway Coastguard rescue helicopter arrived on the scene soon after the alarm was raised but only floating debris - fish boxes and a couple of oil drums, remained of the sunken vessel.

A series of airlifts plucked the men from the liferaft into the aircraft. They were landed at Stornoway. None were injured and the Stornoway coastguard shore crew drove them to the Cala Hotel where they recovered from their ordeal for a few hours before heading off on the 7am cal Mac ferry to the mainland.

Barra lifeboat was also launched to the emergency and removed the flotsam from the sea surface.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The FV Vellee  has been fishing for prawns around the Minch this week.  She used to be a Scottish boat and had a series of different names over her life. She was previously known as the Fraserburgh- registered Willing Lad.

Fairly recently she was sold to Kilkeel in Northern Ireland and now works around the north of Ireland and the Hebrides.

Stornoway Coastguard watch manager Murdo Macaulay said: “We received a Mayday saying they were taking on water rapidly and were sinking.

“The crew were recovered from the liferaft successfully by the rescue helicopter and taken to Stornoway.”

He added: “It was very urgent. The boat sunk very quickly so it was a very serious emergency.

“Luckily the weather was good, the sea was calm and there was very little wind.

“The conditions were favourable and everything went well” but it may have been a different outcome if the weather was rougher he said.

The prawn trawler sank in the middle of the Minch