Emergency Services
Crew Rescued as Fishing Boat Sinks
Upon arrival at the scene, it was discovered another fishing boat had attempted to tow the 15m fishing vessel that was taking on water but unfortunately dropped the tow
Pic: Nicholas Leach
Douglas lifeboat volunteers saved fisherman after their vessel sank yesterday afternoon.
The boat started taking on water at about 3.30pm yesterday afternoon.
Upon arrival at the scene, it was discovered another fishing boat had attempted to tow the 15m fishing vessel that was taking on water but unfortunately dropped the tow.
The 15m fishing vessel was not only taking on water it had lost power, and had no communication. The Douglas lifeboat crew deployed a salvage pump to mitigate the flooding, and one of the volunteer lifeboat crew went aboard to assist in setting it up. To ensure the safety of the vessel’s crew one of their crew member was transferred to the lifeboat.
The lifeboat crew were initially content with the pump so made the decision to tow, calling the Fire and Rescue service to support with additional pumps once back in Douglas Harbour.
Approximately 10-15 minutes into the tow, the skipper requested to be taken off the vessel, as the situation continued to deteriorate. The lifeboat crew assisted in transferring him to safety, providing a handheld radio for communication.
Unfortunately, efforts to salvage the vessel proved futile, and it sank at 6.47pm, approximately four miles off Laxey.
