Kyle lifeboat called to fishing boat with a fouled propeller in Loch Kishorn
Kyle of Lochalsh RNLI were called out after the UK Coastguard received reports of a red flare being sighted in the area of Loch Kishorn. The fishing vessel with one person on board had become entangled in creel lines, and with no VHF signal in the area, had set off a flare to raise the alarm.
The lifeboat Spirit of Fred. Olsen launched at 5:35pm with 4 volunteer crew onboard and made best speed towards the stricken boat. They arrived on scene within 10 minutes, by which time 2 vessels, the Spirit Level from Kishorn Port and the Stang Viking from the nearby fish farm, had gone to assist the fishing boat until the lifeboat arrived.
The lifeboat crew assessed the situation, and after ensuring the fisherman was not injured, they began to work on freeing the boat from the tangled lines. After 10 minutes, they managed to free the ropes from the propeller, and the fishing boat could make its own way back to its home port of Plockton.
The lifeboat departed the scene shortly before 6:00pm and was rehoused, refuelled, and made ready for service by 6:20pm.
A Kyle RNLI spokesperson said: ‘The fishing boat was shooting creels from the stern, when one of the ropes became entangled in the propeller. Due to the bad VHF reception in the area, the fisherman fired off a red emergency flare to raise the alarm’.
Notes to editors
· Please credit the pictures to Kyle RNLI
· Higher resolution pictures are available on request
· This is the 19th callout of the year for Kyle RNLI
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