Two late night call outs for Workington RNLI volunteers
The Shannon class RNLI lifeboat at Workington has been called into action on two consecutive nights
The first call out on 18 December was to a 16 metre fishing vessel Bonnie Lass111 which had suffered engine failure six miles west of Sellafield.
Workington Shannon Class Lifeboat Dorothy May White launched on service at 12.40am with crew of seven. The casualty vessel was six miles west of Sellafield and had suffered engine failure with a crew of four on board.
A tow was established and the lifeboat proceeded to Whitehaven but was unable to reach port due to an ebbing tide. At 3.40am, the vessel was put to anchor 0.5 miles off Whitehaven piers.
Workington RNLI lifeboat returned to station by 4.10am. The volunteer crew returned home and were back on station again at 10am to tow the vessel to Whitehaven. Two crew members were put on board the fishing vessel during the tow. The fishing vessel was safety brought alongside at Whitehaven marina and met by Whitehaven Coastguard rescue teams at 10.30am.
In the early hours of this morning (19 December) the crew were in action again when HM Coastguard requested the launch of Workington lifeboat to a cable laying support vessel. The vessel was adrift five miles west of Whitehaven having lost engine power with one person on board.
The volunteers once again were roused by their pagers just after midnight and the Shannon class lifeboat launched with a crew of seven.
On arrival at the scene, two all-weather lifeboat crew members were quickly put on board cable laying support vessel to assess casualty to secure and attach tow.
With the tow established Workington RNLI lifeboat proceeded to Whitehaven Marina, where the casualty vessel was moored in berth. Workington RNLI lifeboat returned to station at 2.20am.
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For further information, please contact Danielle Rush, RNLI Regional Media Manager on 07786 668829.
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.
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