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Stricken trawler dumps fishing gear as it difted toward shipping lanes

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
Published date24 April 2024
Publication titleDaily Post - North Wales Edition (Wales)
An all-weather lifeboat (ALB) from Moelfre put to sea for eight hours after answering an emergency call for from the trawler

The 14-metre vessel found itself at the mercy of the currents after suffering a mechanical failure around 12 miles north of Puffin Island. Concerned about posing a risk to ships, its crew issued a Pan Pan call - a request for urgent help while not being in immediate danger.

As no other ships in the area could assist, Holyhead Coastguard dispatched RNLI Moelfre ALB at 12.35pm on Sunday, April 21. It was on scene in 25 minutes, with the west-drifting trawler requesting a tow back to Port Penrhyn in Bangor, Gwynedd.

This was denied as the vessel was deemed to be a "commercial tow", for which specialist equipment was needed. RNLI Moelfre said there was no immediate threat to the trawler crew - and any attempt by the lifeboat to establish a tow might endanger its own volunteers and their boat.

The RNLI crew discovered the vessel's derricks (lifting gear) were stuck down and its scallop dredges were hanging some five metres beneath the surface. These are heavy-duty metal-framed nets that are pulled over the seabed to harvest scallops.

An RNLI Moelfre spokesperson said: "The ALB and crew stood by while the crew made several attempts to recover the fishing gear manually. Unfortunately, due to the sheer weight of the equipment, attempts to recover the dredges and stow the beams were unsuccessful. With the vessel in its current state and with the risk of fouling its gear on the seabed, towing to its home port of Porth Penrhyn was not feasible."

An RNLI member was transferred to the trawler and they asked the vessel to jettison its fishing gear. This request was rejected as the trawler crew lacked cutting equipment to separate wires from the winches. Neither did the crew have buoys to mark the abandoned dredges so these could be recovered later.

The lifeboat agreed to stand by and provide safety cover while commercial...

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