GR Direct - Sony - Save up to £500
Tuesday 22 July 2025
 16.4°C   SE Light Breeze
Ocean Kinetics - The Engineering Experts

Emergency services / Lifeboat out for 18 hours to tow Danish fishing boat to safety

The Westbank tow at the north entrance of Lerwick harbour this morning. Photo: Jim Mullay

LERWICK lifeboat has returned to port with the Danish fishing boat Westbank in tow.

The lifeboat was tasked yesterday (Thursday) lunchtime to assist the 17-metre Westbank which had broken down 60 miles east of Shetland and had started taking in water in stormy conditions.

Heading into the south-easterly gale which brought chaos across Scotland, it took the lifeboat several hours to reach the Westbank.

An oil support vessel provided assistance to the Westbank while the lifeboat made her way out into the stormy North Sea.

Lifeboat coxswain Steven Manson described the six-hour journey to reach the Danish vessel as “very, very rough”.

He said because of the duration of the call out the crew took turns being on watch to allow everyone to get a break in what proved to be very difficult conditions.

Manson said the lifeboat reached the Westbank just before 7pm, and after some preparatory work the fishing boat with three crew on board was eventually taken under tow by about 8pm.

Lerwick lifeboat leaving port on Thursday. Photo: Lerwick RNLI

“With the weather and all, it took a little bit longer than usual to get our tow line set up. We got attached to her at the third attempt, and we then started making our way back to Lerwick,” he said.

The tow made progress towards Shetland at a speed of between three to four knots per hour during the night.

Manson said: “The crew of the Westbank got a pump from a helicopter and were managing to keep the water flow down. Their pumps were coping not too bad.”

Both vessels arrived at the north entrance to Lerwick harbour at around 7am, when the harbour tug Knab took over the tow.

A spokesperson for the RNLI added: “This was an incredibly difficult call out for Lerwick RNLI given the treacherous and stormy conditions of the North Sea as Scotland faces Storm Babet.

“The crew preformed outstandingly and after an 18-hour shout, returned back to the station early this morning. We cannot thank them enough for their service and dedication to the RNLI and helping to save lives at sea.”

Become a member of Shetland News

Shetland News is asking its readers to consider paying for membership to get additional perks:

  • Removal of third-party ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.

 

Sign up
for our Newsletters

Stay in the loop with newsletters tailored to your interests. Whether you're looking for daily updates, weekly highlights, or updates on jobs or property, you can choose exactly what you want to receive.

Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 

JavaScript Required

We're sorry, but Shetland News isn't fully functional without JavaScript enabled.
Head over to the help page for instructions on how to enable JavaScript on your browser.

Interested in Notifications?

Get notifications from Shetland News for important and breaking news.
You can unsubscribe at any time.

Have you considered becoming a member of Shetland News?

  • Removal of third-party ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.