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Oban Lifeboat helps five in grounded motorboat

Lifeboats News Release

The crew of Oban lifeboat were paged last night (Tuesday) to go to the aid of a 24ft aluminium motorboat that was aground at the South end of the Sound of Mull with five people on board.

Library Photo of The Mora Edith MacDonald at sea off Oban in late summer sunshine with the waters around her a mix of yellows and golds.

RNLI/Stephen Lawson

Library Photo of The Mora Edith MacDonald at sea off Oban

The initial report was that the vessel was listing hard over with five people on board, one of whom had been in the water.

Oban Lifeboat launched just after 10pm and within 20 minutes had reached the vessel which had gone onto a rock at Inninmore Bay. While on route it was decided to prepare the lifeboat’s daughter craft amid concerns that the water would be too shallow to be able to take the lifeboat close to the rock.

Once on scene it was discovered that the motorboat was listing dangerously to port so the daughter craft with two crew on board was sent in to take the people off the vessel. During the operation, as the passengers were being taken off it, the stranded motorboat lost balance and slid further down the rock closer to the water and listing further over.

After the passengers had been safely brought aboard Oban Lifeboat, the crew on the daughter craft went back to examine the stranded motorboat and determined that it would be possible to pull it off the rock without causing any significant damage. A tow line was passed across and, once the daughter boat and its crew were back on the lifeboat, the casualty vessel was pulled clear of the rock.

An inspection by the lifeboat crew and the vessel’s owner showed no apparent damage to the motorboat and it was decided to escort the vessel, with the owner and one lifeboat crew member on board, to the pontoons in Loch Aline, while keeping the remaining passengers on board the lifeboat.

After safely returning the vessel and passengers to Loch Aline, the crew of the Mora Edith MacDonald returned to station, arriving back at 00:25 and making the lifeboat ready for service again by 1am.

Notes to Editor

Image: Stephen Lawson/RNLI

The RNLI is the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

Oban is a busy station serving one of the largest stretches of coastline in the UK, flanked by RNLI colleagues based at Tobermory, Islay and Campbeltown.

The Oban volunteer crew operate the Trent Class All Weather lifeboat Mora Edith MacDonald from our base at the South Pier on Gallanach Road, close to the CalMac ferry terminal.

This was the 21st ‘shout’ for the Oban crew of 2023

RNLI Media Contacts

For further information, please contact:

John Macgill Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer for Oban RNLI on 07711 548672 or email [email protected]

Stephen Lawson Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer for Oban RNLI on 07776 340629 or email [email protected]

Natasha Bennett, Regional Media Officer (Scotland), on 07826 900639 [email protected]

Martin Macnamara, Regional Media Manager (Scotland), on 07920 365929 or [email protected]

RNLI Press Office 01202 336789 or [email protected]


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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For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, Twitter 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.

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