A person on a 40ft boat had to be saved by rescue teams after declaring an urgent emergency off the coast of west Wales. The incident happened on Wednesday morning when the vessel began taking on water as it was near the South Hook LNG terminal near Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire.
Rescue operation details
The man onboard the boat was taken to safety and the vessel was towed to the shore by the Harbour Patrol after RNLI crews assisted in getting rid of the water which was causing it to sink.
A spokesperson for Angle Lifeboat RNLI said: "At 11:46am on Wednesday morning the crew were tasked to assist a 40ft motor vessel with one person onboard who had declared pan pan after he began taking on water rapidly off the South Hook LNG terminal.
The lifeboat launched shortly after and located the vessel now under tow by the Harbour Patrol being towed into shallower water. A Port Authority pilot vessel was also arriving on scene to assist if necessary.
Vessel towed to safety
"With the vessel taking a significant amount of water and with limited options, two crew members were transferred onboard the vessel with the lifeboats salvage pump in an attempt to get the water ingress under control and identify the source."
"With the water ingress now under control and identified as a damaged shaft with no immediate fix a plan was made to proceed to Neyland Marina where Dale Sailing Company would provide an emergency lift out."
"After liaising with Milford Haven VTS and the Coastguard the lifeboat took over the tow from the Harbour Patrol and began making their way to Neyland Marina under the escort of the Harbour Patrol."
Recent call-outs
"Once off the entrance to Neyland Marina the tow was dropped and the casualty vessel placed into an alongside tow and taken into the marina where it was placed into the lifting slings and lifted clear of the water."
It has been a busy period for Angle Lifeboat RNLI recently. Early on Thursday morning, crews were called to Freshwater West to assist in a search for a person thought to be in the water. Thankfully they were later located safe and well on the beach.
