Dungeness RNLI assists with collision in the English Channel
At 4.10am on Wednesday 8 August HM Coastguard tasked Dungeness lifeboat to assist a 42ft catamaran that had been in collision with a 2,000 ton cargo vessel, 4 mile southwest of Dungeness point.
The RNLI Shannon class lifeboat 13-02 “The Morrell’ under the command of Coxswain Stuart Adams arrived on scene to see the mast from the catamaran entangled with the ship. Coxswain Adams put two of his volunteer crewmembers aboard the casualty to establish everyone was accounted for and no one had any injuries. With the help of two crew from the cargo vessel, the two RNLI volunteers managed to untangle and separate the two vessels.
After the crew’s assessment of the catamaran and the well-being of her passengers, Coxswain Adams decided to bring the casualty around Dungeness point and transferred two more lifeboat crew onto the stricken vessel to secure the two hulls of the catamaran together, making it safer for the casualty to be towed to Dover Harbour, where it was safely moored on the visitors pontoon.
Coxswain Adams said ‘the two occupants on the catamaran had been through a traumatic experience and apart from being shaken up, escaped without any injuries and together with our RNLI volunteer crew worked hard to save the vessel’
On returning to Dungeness but before re-carriaging, Dover Coastguard tasked the RNLI lifeboat to another incident of an EPIRB (emergency position indicating radio beacon) 11 mile south of the Dungeness Point.
Once on scene Coxswain Adams and his volunteer crew conducted an expanding box search to cover the area. After an extensive search nothing was found and the RNLI lifeboat was released and returned to station.
Media Contacts
- Judith Richardson – Dungeness RNLIVolunteer Lifeboat Press Officer
Tel: 01797 320062/Mob: 07859264226 - Email: [email protected]
- Paul Dunt, RNLI Regional Media Officer (South East) 0207 6207416/07786 66882 [email protected]
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