Bembridge RNLI and Yarmouth RNLI have been involved in a 15-hour operation to save a 24m trawler and her crew after it ran aground on the submarine barrier off Portsmouth yesterday afternoon (Tuesday).
Bembridge’s All Weather Lifeboat, the ‘Alfred Albert Williams’, was launched at the request of Solent Coastguard at just after 15:00 to assist the Guard Ship ‘Sharon Vale‘ – a 220 ton trawler supporting the IFA2 cable laying project with 5 crew onboard.
The vessel had run aground on the western side of the submarine barrier between Horse Sand Fort and Southsea seafront after her engines had failed. The crew had been unable to put an anchor down in time to stop her drifting eastwards with the wind and tide until she came up against the concrete blocks of the barrier.
It did not take long for the Alfred Albert Williams to reach the trawler, get alongside and to put 2 lifeboat crew members onboard to assess the situation. It emerged that the collision with the block damaged the trawler, which started taking on water. This was just about being contained using the ship’s own pumps.
In deteriorating conditions, Solent Coastguard endeavoured to get the crew of the trawler to abandon ship, however, the skipper felt the situation was still containable. 2 crew members were soon transferred onto Bembridge Lifeboat.
At around 20:00 last night, the trawler refloated and drifted eastwards away from the barrier towards Langstone and after a short period her crew managed to drop an anchor.
Yarmouth RNLI’s Severn-Class Lifeboat was called upon at 19:45 to relieve the Bembridge crew and act as a guard overnight. Once on scene, the Alfred Albert Williams was released and took the 2 crew members from the trawler to The Camber, Portsmouth before heading to home station.
A marine surveyor and a diver were taken out to the casualty vessel last night to assess the situation. QHM Portsmouth has directed that the vessel is not to be moved without authority.
Bembridge Lifeboat has re-launched this morning to relieve Yarmouth Lifeboat, which has now returned to Yarmouth Harbour.
The volunteer crew from Bembridge are once again standing by the vessel, some 15 hours after the operation began.
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(Photos: Bryan Jones/John Attrill)
DAS BOOT .