Port St Mary Lifeboat Station - Callouts 11 January 2000
Port St Mary All weather lifeboat was called out at 20:25 UTC on 11 Jan. to assist in the search for the fishing vessel "Solway Harvester" and her crew of seven after the vessel EPIRB had been located at 19:20 UTC by a Seaking rescue helicopter from RAF Valley, N. Wales in a position approx. 14 miles ESE of Douglas Head, Isle of Man. After a long and difficult night the lifeboat returned to station at approx. 06:00 the next day after an unsuccessful search operation.
MFV Solway Harvester entering Douglas Habour 1999 - copyright Mike Craine, Onchan
The "Solway Harvester" was modern fishing boat built in 1992 at the Hepworth shipyard, Paull, Yorkshire. She and her sister trawler, the "Tobrach'n" had been fishing off the east side of the Isle of Man since Sunday 9 January. Both vessel had decided to head for home and were intending to dock at Kirkcudbright at 2:00 am on the Wednesday."Tobrach'n" had already started for home and was some two hours steaming ahead of the other vessel .A SSW force 8/9 gale had blown up and the Solway Harvesters' skipper had phoned "Tobrach'n" at 17:40 UTC to say that they were coming in but would head towards Ramsey for shelter first. That was the last communication from the vessel. At 18:15 the alarm was raised when the EPIRB, the emergency radio beacon went off.
"Tobrach'n" turned back to help in the hunt for their friends but had to shelter in Ramsey Bay after suffering engine problems.
HM Coastguard Press Notice 12 January 2000 ; 01:00 a.m. UPDATE:
SEARCH CONTINUES FOR SEVEN CREW AND MISSING FISHING VESSEL
`Solway Harvester' some 11 miles south east of the Isle of Man. A`hit' from an 406 MHz emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) earlier this evening alerted Liverpool Coastguard to possible problems with the vessel.
At about the same time the EPIRB 'hit' was received at just after 6.00 p.m. this evening, the owners of the vessel also reported losing contact with the vessel about an hour earlier. The seven crew on board the scallop dredger registered in Kirkcudbright were heading home and due back in to their home port between 1.00 a.m. and 2.00 a.m. this morning. The EPIRB was located some 50 - 60 nautical miles from the port.
Liverpool Coastguard immediately initiated a mayday relay and alerted lifeboats from Workington, as well as Douglas, Ramsey and Port St. Mary on the Isle of Man. All four lifeboats began conducting a search in the area in atrocious weather. Two rescue helicopters have flown to the area from RNAS Prestwick (Rescue 177) and RAF Valley (Rescue 122) and various merchant and fishing vessels are also assisting in the search including merchant vessels, ro-ro ferries and fishing vessels along with any other vessel transiting the area.
(note: conditions were such that at 20:35 UTC the Workington Lifeboat returned to station as it was only making limited head way against the then prevailing gale, in addition it had been established by this time that the likely position of the Solway Harvester was further south than had been indicated by the first position fixes of the EPIRB.
The merchant vessels included the IOM Steam Packet ferry "Ben-my-Chree", MV Merchant Venture, MV Gorsethorn and MV European Navigator. The "Ben-my-Chree" had departed on a scheduled sailing from Douglas at 19:45 UTC with 98 passengers on board. The vessel continued to search until 1 am when it turned back to Douglas instead of going to Heysham)
A further helicopter from the Irish Marine Emergency Service (Rescue 116) also joined the search later in the evening along with a Royal fleet Auxiliary vessel `Bayleaf'. An Islander fixed wing aircraft from Belfast with thermal imaging equipment was also due to join the search later during the night.
Don McDonald, District Controller at Liverpool Coastguard said:
" The first indication that there was anything amiss was the alert from the EPIRB. We do not know yet what has occurred to the vessel hence our actions in launching the various rescue units to the scene. A beacon was recovered from the water and it was soon determined it was from the same vessel. Later during this evening a liferaft was located at sea also from the same vessel but it was discovered un-inflated. The liferaft was normally fixed to the vessel by means of a hydrostatic release mechanism.
" Our search area is presently estimated to be 209 nautical square miles, however visibility is down to 2000 yards in driving rain. The cloud base is 500 - 600 feet with south-westerly winds force 5 to 6, with rough seas and spray.
" Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary are in contact with the families of the missing crew and at this time the worst is feared."
HM Coastguard Press Notice 12 January 2000
SECOND LIFERAFT LOCATED AFTER NIGHT TIME SEARCH FOR MISSING FISHING VESSEL
Despite locating the second liferaft from the missing 21 metre fishing vessel `Solway Harvester' just before 8.00 a.m. this morning the search is continuing as early morning light assists the emergency services in their search for the missing crew. The search is concentrating some 11 miles south east of the Isle of Man where the 406 MHz emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) was located after alerting Liverpool Coastguard yesterday evening.
The lifeboats continued their search throughout the night assisted by rescue helicopters from RNAS Prestwick and RAF Valley and the Irish Marine Emergency Service. Various other merchant, ferry and fishing vessels also assisted in the search along with other vessels which were transiting the area. A Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel `Bayleaf' also stood by throughout the night and assisted with communications in the area.
(note: Between 03:30 and 04:30 Ramsey, Port St Mary and Douglas lifeboats were relieved by lifeboats from Workington, Barrow and Peel, all of which had to make passages of 2 hours or more in order to get to the search area. The helicopters were stood down after 02:30 in order to refuel (for some they had already flown two sorties during the night) and to rest their aircrews until first light at 07:30. Ramsey and Douglas lifeboats both refuelled and changed crews and then re commenced the search at first light. By this time several fishing boats from the Kirkcudbright scallop fishing fleet had joined in the search for their colleagues. Peel lifeboat finally returned back to her home station on the west side of the Isle of Man at 18:00 after 15 hours .)
Don McDonald, District Controller at Liverpool Coastguard said:
" The finding of the second un-inflated liferaft is a considerable blow to our hopes of recovering the men safe and well. We also have had an indication of a trace of diesel oil in the water and we are re-concentrating our efforts within the initial search area. During the early hours of this morning a life ring was also discovered in the water and positively identified as being from the 'Solway Harvester'. The liferafts are normally fixed to the vessel by means of a hydrostatic release mechanism.
HM Coastguard Press Notice No:025/0012 January 2000
COASTGUARD SEARCH AND RESCUE UPDATE ON MISSING FISHING VESSEL
The Search and Rescue operation co-ordinated by Liverpool Coastguard over night and into this morning has been scaled down as the Coastguard are confident that if any of the crew from the missing fishing vessel 'Solway Harvester' had been visible in the water they would have been found by now.
The Coastguard will continue with a surface vessel search in the area for the rest of today. All vessels in the vicinity are being asked to search with sonar and sounder in an effort to located the vessel on the sea bed.
Don McDonald, District Controller at Liverpool Coastguard said:
"Since the start of the incident and with the items located we feel now that something happened suddenly to the vessel some time between 5.30pm and shortly after 6.00pm yesterday. We have found no trace of the missing crew and are confident had the crew been visible in the water we would have found them by now."
"The search area has been combed thoroughly by helicopter, fixed wing aircraft and utilising our thermal imaging capabilities throughout the night. Numerous merchant vessels responded to the distress call and conducted searches at various times and locations."
(note: at 2:30 pm on 12 January the search at sea was called off after a pipe laying vessel fitted with sonar equipment located what was believed to be the wreck of the fishing boat on the sea bed, in a position close to where the EPIRB had been recovered by the Seaking helicopter, Rescue 122, RAF Valley.)
Newspaper coverage
The loss of the fishing vessel Solway Harvester -
Details of the news coverage of this tragedy and the involvement in the search for and her 7 crew by Port St Mary Lifeboat and many other lifeboats from the Isle of Man and Cumbria, January 2000
Edited 30 December 2000