Mumbles and Port Talbot lifeboats Launch to fishing boat in distress

The volunteer crew of the Mumbles lifeboat were called to the aid of a broken down fishing vessel in the early hours of this morning. The 24ft boat with 3 people on board suffered engine failure. At 1.45 am the UK Coastguard at Milford Haven were called and 15 minutes later the All Weather Lifeboat The Roy Barker IV arrived on scene just a mile off Mumbles head.

The fishing boat was taken in tow to its home port of the Afan River.

Port Talbot lifeboat took the vessel in tow back to its mooring and returned to station just after 3.15 am.

Lifeboat crewman Josh Stewart said ‘ The skipper of the vessel did everything right by dropping his anchor immediately and calling for help from the Coastguard. The crew had all necessary safety equipment on board including VHF radio, life jackets and plenty of torches . The boat had broken down in the busy entrance for shipping to Swansea Bay so it was essential he was towed to safety as quickly as possible as there were a number of large ships coming into the area via the shipping channel he was in’ .

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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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