Irish Coast Guard Coordinates Rescue of Fishermen from Trawler After Mayday

Irish Coast Guard called out four RNLI lifeboats in the rescue of the fishing trawler crew (RNLI file photo)

The Irish Coast Guard is reporting that the crew of 12 from a trawler operating off the south coast west of Cork was rescued on Wednesday, October 22, after issuing a Mayday call. They are commending the actions and highlighted that the crew was well prepared with the proper emergency equipment.

The Mayday was issued around 0600 local time from the Spanish-owned trawler Radoche Tercero. The 35-meter (115-foot) fishing vessel operates from France and is registered in France with a license to fish in the Irish waters. It was approximately 53 nautical miles to the southwest of Dursey Head near Cork.

The Irish Coast Guard Marine Rescue Co-ordination Center reports it received the Mayday with the crew saying they were preparing to abandon the vessel. They said the vessel was afloat but taking on water. Weather conditions at the time were described as fair with a 2-meter (6.5-foot) ground swell.

The crew was prepared with communications equipment. They were planning to enter the vessel’s life raft.

The Coast Guard dispatched an airplane and a helicopter to survey the scene, and they called out the Royal National Lifeboat Institution boats from Castletownbere and Baltimore. Castletownbere reports it dispatched with four crewmembers and a coxswain in command, while Baltimore had a crew of six with its coxswain. The lifeboats Alan Massey and Annette Hutton also responded.

The Castletownbere RNLI arrived at the scene just after 0900 local time. They reported the 12 crewmembers had been rescued from the life raft by another fishing vessel, Punteareas Uno. It was determined that the crew was in good condition and did not require medical attention. The RNLI was escorting the fishing trawler to the port of Castletownbere to land the rescued crew.

The Baltimore RNLI was able to stand down while the Castletownbere RNLI remained to recover the EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) that had been deployed. The Catletownbere RNLI returned to station at 1300.

At last report, the fishing trawler was still afloat and drifting off the Irish coast.