Ocean Maid sinks after grounding off Cairnbulg
3rd November 2022
The Ocean Maid heeled over rapidly following the grounding, and continued to sink through the following day. (Photos: Eugene Rutter)
The crew of the Ocean Maid BA 55 were rescued after the vessel ran aground off Cairnbulg, two miles southeast of Fraserburgh, shortly after 5.50am last Monday morning.
Coastguard teams from Fraserburgh and Peterhead were tasked to the incident, along with the Fraserburgh RNLI all-weather lifeboat.
The four crew had abandoned the vessel for their liferaft shortly before rescue services arrived on scene, as the vessel heeled over and began to take on water.
Three of the crew were said to be fine after an initial check by Scottish Ambulance Service responders. A fourth was taken to hospital in Fraserburgh for treatment.
The vessel, which was built in 1986, continued to sink, with photographs from later that day showing it largely submerged.
The accident happened close to Cairnbulg Beacon, and just yards from the wreck of the Sovereign.
The accident happened just yards from the wreck of the Sovereign BF 380, which went aground there in December 2005.
Speaking last Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Marine Accident Investigation Branch said: “The MAIB is aware of a fishing vessel that grounded off Cairnbulg yesterday. A team of inspectors are deploying to begin gathering evidence as part of the process of conducting a preliminary assessment.”
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.
