Invergordon Lifeboat launched to RIB requiring assistance in Misty Moray Firth.
Invergordon’s Volunteer Lifeboat crew were launched at 11.00am Thursday 11 July to reports of a vessel requiring assistance in the Moray Firth which had become covered in a blanket of mist.
The RNLI Invergordon All-weather Trent Class Lifeboat ‘Douglas Aikman Smith’ left the berth and made best speed up the Cromarty Firth and out through the Sutors and made its way to the Cromarty Bank Buoy, a starboard marker buoy marking the passage to the Cromarty Firth.
The casualty vessel with one person on board had reported he required assistance after becoming disorientated in the mist that had quickly descended in the area.
With a local tug standing by until the Lifeboat arrived on scene shortly after 11.25am, one crew member was placed on board the RIB to assist in the safe transit back to Cromarty Harbour.
With no medical issues and the casualty all well, the Lifeboat led the way back into the clearer waters of the Cromarty Firth as the stacked oil rigs began to appear in the lifting mist.
Once outside the harbour entrance, the volunteer crew member was taken back to the All-weather lifeboat and the casualty made its own way into Cromarty Harbour to awaiting local coastguard teams and once all confirmed well, Aberdeen Coastguard released Invergordon from service to make its way to Invergordon’s West Harbour.
The Lifeboat was refuelled and made ready service by 12:30pm
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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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