A call from Aberdeen Coastguard – a vessel had sunk just outside the harbour.
Two fishermen had been rescued and were recovering at the Aberdeen RNLI station.
At the Fishermen’s Mission, we are there every hour of every day, ready to respond to
fishing incidents and emergencies. Mike Dale, Fishermen’s Mission Area Officer in Newlyn shares
with us his incident log from a busy weekend on-call.
Saturday 01:00
Call from Stornoway Coastguard. Scottish fisherman airlifted from a vessel 40 miles off the Butt of
Lewis lighthouse. Emergency medical evacuation with a suspected heart attack.
The injured fisherman was contacted to ensure the safe arrival of the casualty.
My contact details were relayed to the fisherman should he require any support. Incident details were passed
to our Fishermen’s Mission Area Officer in Stornoway.
Sunday 08:00
Call received on Sunday morning from our Area Officer in Troon.
The injured fisherman was from the area and the family is known to us.
Fishermen’s Mission Area Officers in Troon and Stornoway liaised to make sure that the fisherman’s immediate needs (clean clothes/toiletries/phone charger etc.) were met whilst he remained in hospital in Stornoway.
Sunday 18:00
Call from Solent Coastguard.
A Scottish vessel had capsized in the North Sea off Norway with eight
fishermen in the water. The Norwegian Coastguard coordinated the rescue.
Three of the fishermen were airlifted to hospital in Bergen where one tragically subsequently died.
Contacted our Aberdeen Mission Area Officer to alert him of a fatality from a boat in his area. I continued to work with the Solent Coastguard through the night to determine the support we could offer to the rescued fishermen.
Linked back with Mission Area Officer in Aberdeen, having now spoken with local police to ascertain details of the deceased fisherman. Held a briefing with the wider Fishermen’s
Mission team as the lost boat also had connections to Scarborough through the crew.
Monday 19:00
Call from Aberdeen Coastguard. A vessel had sunk just outside the harbour. Two crewmen had been
rescued and were recovering at the Aberdeen RNLI station. Asked the Coastguard to pass on my details and for the guys to call me. Talked to the safe but traumatised crew about the incident and ascertained their immediate needs – dry clothes, food, and overnight accommodation.
Our vital emergency response covers the whole of the UK and is only possible through your donations.
Please give today to ensure our Fishermen’s Mission Port Staff are always ready, always on-call, for any fishing emergency.
