Tobermory RNLI in 13 hour shout to cargo ship aground in the Sound of Mull
Tobermory RNLI’s volunteer crew went to the aid of a cargo ship aground in the Sound of Mull in a 13 hour service in the course of which they covered more than 90 nautical miles on Wednesday 22 June 2022.
Shortly after 08:00 Tobermory RNLI was requested by the UK Coastguard to go to the aid of a cargo ship which had run aground in the Sound of Mull close to Drimnin on the Morvern peninsular. On arriving at the scene, the lifeboat stood by as the cargo vessel managed to refloat on the rising tide. The volunteer crew then escorted the ship whilst it assessed any damage caused by the grounding. The cargo ship's crew established that the vessel was taking on water via its forepeak at the bow although the pumps were coping with the water ingress.
After discussions with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, for safety reasons the lifeboat was tasked to escort the cargo vessel towards its destination port of Corpach, north of Fort William. Arrangements were made for Oban RNLI lifeboat to take over the escort at the entrance to Loch Linnhe. However, just as Tobermory’s volunteer crew arrived, Oban RNLI lifeboat was re-tasked to another incident in the area. Tobermory RNLI lifeboat therefore continued to escort the cargo ship to Corpach.
The lifeboat returned to Tobermory where she was refuelled and made ready for service at 21:30. In all, Tobermory RNLI’s volunteers covered more than 90 nautical miles in a service lasting over 13 hours.
Tobermory RNLI’s Lifeboat Operations Manager Dr Sam Jones said: ‘This was a long shout for our volunteers but fortunately there was a good outcome with no injuries, serious damage or pollution. We’d like to thank the member of the public who saw the vessel run aground for alerting the Coastguard so promptly. This enabled us to quickly get to the scene to provide safety cover whilst the vessel tried to float itself off the reef’.
Notes for editors
Please credit the Drimnin Estate for the main photograph.
Tobermory RNLI's first Lifeboat Day since 2019 will take place on Sunday 14 August 2022.
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