Port St Mary lifeboat launched to rescue stricken fishing vessel

RNLI crew tows vessel back into harbour

A fishing vessel that got into difficulty south-west of the Calf of Man has been safely towed into Port St Mary Harbour by the port's all-weather lifeboat.

The RNLI vessel, the Henry Heys Duckworth was launched at 1.39pm yesterday following a request from the Coastguard.

The stricken vessel, with two crew members onboard had been left drifting without propulsion, nine miles offshore.

On assessment the lifeboat crew found that as the boat had drifted, fishing gear had become entangled beneath the hull.

Unable to manoeuvre and drifting the vessel presented a potential hazard to other traffic in the area.

As the tow got underway the movement of the vessel helped free the tangled gear, which was then recovered.

The vessel was safely docked in Port St Mary at 5.30pm.