Guiding Star owner gives thanks for crew rescue
17th October 2022
The owner of the Guiding Star H 360 has issued a statement thanking all those involved in the rescue of her eight crew after the vessel sank off Fair Isle on 6 October.
The 26m Peterhead-based pair trawler went down following a collision with her sistership Guiding Light H 90, 45 miles southeast of Shetland.
Guiding Star H 360. (Photo: Sydney Sinclair)
A Mayday was issued at around noon, reporting that the vessel was taking on water following a collision, and the crew abandoned ship to the liferaft. Five crew members were then safely taken onboard the Guiding Light, while the remaining three were winched off the liferaft by the Shetland Coastguard helicopter. They were flown to Sumburgh, where they were checked over by the ambulance service.
A spokesman for vessel owner Livingstone LLP said: “Both ourselves and the skipper of the vessel would like to pay tribute to all of those who participated in the safe rescue of the crew.
“Our thanks go to HM Coastguard for co-ordinating the rescue, the Sumburgh Coastguard helicopter crew, the Gilbert Bain Hospital in Lerwick, the Scottish Ambulance Service in Shetland, those vessels that were near the scene of the incident that stood by, and the Fishermen’s Mission in Shetland, Inverness, Peterhead and Aberdeen for ongoing support.”
Coastguard Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre commander Max Rimington said: “We are so thankful everyone is accounted for and grateful to the crew, and the nearby vessels which responded, for helping us achieve a good outcome.”
The Guiding Star was built by Parkol Marine Engineering in 2014, with the Guiding Light being completed by the same yard four years later.
An MAIB investigation into the causes of the collision and sinking is underway.
This story was taken from the archives 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.
