| UK. Olympic Hercules tug drops oil rig tow; responds to Coastguard alert to rescue fishing vessel |
|
|
|
| Friday, 06 October 2006 | |
|
Coastguard news: Shetland Coastguard have been active today when the fishing vessel `Helenus - FR 121' with five people on board called at 10:00 this morning to alert the Coastguard to the fact that they had become wound-up in their own fishing gear, and required a tow to Lerwick. Broadcast action was then taken to find a suitable vessel for the tow back to the mainland. The weather conditions on scene were presently favourable, but as gales were imminent the Coastguard considered it imperative to get the fishing vessel into a safe port. Broadcast action was set up to cover VHF; medium frequency 2182 Khz and Navtex with EGC satellite enhanced group calling. However the Ocean Prospect, a oil rig being towed north past the east side of Shetland was the only respondee to that broadcast action. However,and fortunately, the Tow Master released the massive Olympic Hercules, an anchor handling tug with 23000 BHP, which was built in 2002 for the towing task. The Tow Master was a little worried about the 82.1 metre Tug towing a 26 metre steel fishing vessel, however the Coastguard at Shetland asked him to "Be gentle with the vessel!" The Rig tow has now ceased until the Olympic Hercules returns. The tow to Lerwick will take approximately 9 hours, and the return voyage will take approximately 6 hours. Alex Wylie, Shetland Coastguard Watch Manager said: "We are extremely grateful to the Tow Master for releasing one of his vessels from this most important task for this type of work. This is one of those many days as Watch Manager at Shetland, that gives great job satisfaction |
|
| Last Updated ( Saturday, 07 October 2006 ) |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|