Search and rescue volunteers once again put their lives at risk and launched into the darkness in response to a Mayday call off the Isle of Wight last night (Monday) – but for the 4th time this year alone nothing was found. Was it a hoax?
For several months Island Echo has been investigating a series of incidents which appear to be suspicious in nature – each instance costing the taxpayer thousands of pounds and putting the lives of volunteers and paid-for Coastguards at risk.
Despite numerous call-outs resulting in no wreckage or persons ever being located and rumours of a hoaxer circulating, HM Coastguard says it does not believe there is a hoax caller at work.
Since 2019, there have been a total of 9 incidents – which we know of – that appear to be suspicious in nature, many of them sharing the same modus operandi (MO). In 2022 so far there have been 4 such incidents.
On 20th February, in stormy conditions, a Pan Pan call was picked up in the South Wight area. This led to 2 lifeboats from Bembridge and Yarmouth being launched to search between St Catherine’s and Blackgang, with Ventnor Coastguard Rescue Team also deployed. Nothing was found neither at the time nor in the days following the emergency alert.
Then, on 23rd March, lifeboats from Yarmouth and Swanage, plus Coastguard Rescue 175 helicopter, were involved in a search between Poole Bay and The Needles following a Mayday broadcast. Nothing was found.
Just 2 months later, on 25th May, a Mayday call was picked up in the Solent area reporting that a vessel was taking on water and sinking. The sea conditions were choppy. This resulted in 3 lifeboats – Bembridge, Portsmouth and Gosport – and the Coastguard helicopter being scrambled. Again, nothing was found.
Last night, Bembridge and Selsey RNLI lifeboats were launched when a Mayday call was received reporting that a yacht, with 2 persons on board, was in difficulty off St Catherine’s Point. A search was conducted but after more than 3 hours, nothing was found. The incident saw Coastguard Rescue 163 from Lydd in Kent scrambled. It has been confirmed that there have been no further reports of distress, traffic or wreckage.
Other incidents in recent times include:
- 14th June 2021 – Calls for help via radio transmission – Sandown Lifeboat and Ventnor and Needles Coastguard Rescue Teams. Nothing found.
- 30th June 2020 – Pan Pan call off the East Wight in F5 conditions – Bembridge Lifeboat, Rescue 175, Royal Navy and 2 Coastguard Rescue Teams. Nothing found.
- 14th April 2020 – Mayday picked up in the West Wight area – Coastguard Rescue 175 scrambled. Nothing found.
- 13th January 2020 – Mayday call near Wootton – Cowes RNLI lifeboat and Bembridge Coastguard Rescue Team. Nothing found.
- 16th June 2019 – Mayday alert near Island Harbour – Cowes Lifeboat and 2 Coastguard Rescue Teams. Nothing found, thought to be a hoax.
A Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesperson told Island Echo back in May:
“We have received no information to suggest any of the incidents highlighted are hoax calls and we do not believe there is a hoax caller at work.
“We never put a price on human life. If we get a call for help – whatever the method – we treat it as real. We encourage people to call us if they see someone in trouble or think they may be in trouble, even if they’re not sure whether they are or not. Contacting HM Coastguard in these cases is always the right thing to do.
“Search and Rescue resources will always be used rather than risk loss of life. If we think someone’s in danger or in trouble, we will always search for them and rescue them if it’s needed.”
Earlier this year Island Echo asked HM Coastguard to release the Mayday recordings for the above-mentioned incidents, as well as details of the cost and manpower associated with each incident. The information has not been supplied.
Well if there is a hoaxer out there, they should track the person down, and severe justice should be given. These people put there lives at risk searching.
No s**t Sherlock.
Radio signals can themselves be used to locate a point of transmission.
The ambulance service is also victim of a cruel hoaxer, tying up a crew for two hours plus recently, when genuine emergencies were waiting.
A lovely society we live in that some inbred moron feels this funny or acceptable.
Hope whomever this is gets caught.
Yes, they can but only during the transmission. Unless you have a team set up to track this person at the time of the transmission they won’t be found.
HM Coastguard should have ways of pinpointing a vessels location & if they do have recordings of such calls, have bothered to listen to them to determine if the voices are indeed the same! I recall a news report of a young man getting into trouble in foreign waters who was wearing a location beacon. His call was received by Falmouth Coastguard & was rescued 1,000s of miles away. But they can’t pinpoint vessel locations on the doorstep, but conduct searches with nothing found & they don’t believe it’s a hoax! That sounds to me like they need to start looking closer to home. Someone is getting a rise out of these calls!
The “beacon” you mention will likely be a EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon). It transmits a continuous distress signal that is picked up by satellites. The beacon contains a GPS receiver and transmits its exact co-ordinates as part of the distress signal, which is why the casualty could be located “1,000s of miles away”
As others have suggested, a raw voice transmission can only be located at the time of transmission using triangulation.
The two scenarios are in no way comparable.