Port St Mary Launch for Mayday broadcast

On the 23 November 2019 at 6:10pm the crew of Port St Mary's RNLI All weather lifeboat Gough Ritchie 2 were paged by the UK coastguard to a Mayday broadcast from a fishing vessel sinking rapidly 2.5 nautical miles north west off the Calf Sound Isle of Man, with 2 crew on board.

The coastguard Helicopter rescue 936 was also tasked to assist along with the crew of Port Erin's RNLI Lifeboat RNLB Muriel and Leslie. On route all units were informed by a nearby fishing vessel that the casualty vessel had sunk and that they had recovered two persons from the water who were wearing life jackets.

The vessel had sank so quickly the crew had been forced directly into the water. Their liferaft had deployed, but due to the rapid sinking of the vessel, they were unable to get to it before the nearby fishing vessel rescued them from the water.
Crew members from both Port St Mary and Port Erin lifeboats were put on board to assess the condition of the casualties.

Search and rescue helicopter 936, which had arrived on scene, was stood down.
Both lifeboats then escorted the second fishing vessel back to Peel Harbour where the casualties were met by IOM Coastguard and relevant emergency services where they were found to be safe and well.

Port Erin crew were back on station at 9.05pm followed by Port St Mary returning to station at 9.16pm.

The sea state was mainly slight with a force 2 north-easterly breeze.

Coxswain Mike Keggen stated that if it had not been for the casualties wearing their lifejackets and the quick response of a nearby fishing vessel the outcome could have been very different.

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.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.