Vessel in distress at Helmsdale

Wick Lifeboat was paged at 9am to assist a vessel in difficulty at the entrance to Helmsdale harbour. The Lifeboat immediately made its way to the location and upon arriving at Helmsdale found the vessel aground just outside the harbour, the lifeboats inflatable boat was launched and passed a tow rope to the casualty.

The Lifeboat then managed to pull the vessel free and established that the vessel was capable of being towed to Wick.

After towing the vessel to Wick it was established that there was a large swell in the bay, which would make it difficult to control the vessel being towed. A decision was then made to transfer the vessel to Scrabster. A call was made to our colleagues in Scrabster who made their way to meet us North of Wick where upon the tow was transferred to Thurso Lifeboat.

Thurso Lifeboat arrived back at Scrabster at 23:00.

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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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.