Royal Navy tow for fishing vessel
28th October 2021
Hartlepool RNLI volunteers were paged on 20 October to assist an 11m fishing boat with three people onboard that had suffered mechanical failure two miles off Blackhall, County Durham – and that had been taken under tow by Royal Navy patrol and training vessel HMS Explorer.
The all-weather lifeboat Betty Huntbatch launched at 4.50pm and was alongside the casualty vessel within a few minutes, around a mile and a half off Hartlepool, where the tow was handed over to the RNLI boat.
The vessel was towed to Hartlepool Marina, where a team from Hartlepool Coastguard Rescue were waiting to assist.
Hartlepool RNLI station mechanic and second coxswain Garry Waugh said: “It was a bit different working alongside the Royal Navy with the casualty vessel, but it was good to see the vessel and its crew returned safely to a berth at the Hartlepool Marina, and thanks again to the Royal Navy crew for their assistance.”
This story was taken from the latest issue of Fishing News. For more up-to-date and in-depth reports on the UK and Irish commercial fishing sector, subscribe to Fishing News here or buy the latest single issue for just £3.30 here.
