Salmon tender towed into Scalloway

A SALMON tender with four crew on board was towed to safety on Friday morning after breaking down off Shetland’s west coast.

The Gerda Seale called Shetland coastguard at 6.20am to say she was drifting towards the West Skerry south of Hamnavoe, on Burra Isle, after shutting down a smoking engine.

Coastguard watch officers put out a pan emergency call for any vessels in the area to come to its assistance, but when no one replied immediately they scrambled the Sumburgh-based search and rescue helicopter and the Aith lifeboat.

However before they arrived on the scene a fellow salmon tender, Ronja Settler, turned up to help, attaching a tow line and taking the Gerda Seale into Scalloway harbour. The Scalloway pilot boat Lyrie escorted the pair into port, where they arrived just before 9am.