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A cargo ship that became grounded near a Cornish lighthouse has been towed to safety

Wednesday, 12 July 2023 08:10

A cargo ship that grounded near a lighthouse off the Cornish coast on Monday has been towed to safer waters.

 The 195-metre, 31,0000 tonne Mazarine had lost power and grounded on Wolf Rock Lighthouse, which is just off Land’s End.  

Lifeboat crews from Sennnen, Penlee, Lizard and Falmouth were scrambled juts in case the crew of the vessel needed to be evacuated.

Penlee’s RNLI Coxswain Patch Harvey said; "It's a distance of about 14 miles from Newlyn to Wolf Rock, and with the south westerly wind touching force 7 on our bow, it was a pretty uncomfortable trip out there but with the possibility of having to evacuate crew from the casualty vessel we were going full speed to get there quickly. It took about 45 minutes."

Sennen Cove’s RNLI Coxswain, Ollie George said; "When we launched initially, we thought we might be facing a situation where we were having to evacuate the crew from the vessel, and we were preparing ourselves for a very difficult situation.

"Thankfully the Mazarine was able to clear Wolf Rock, but unable to restart her engines she was drifting at a rate of two knots towards Mounts Bay.

"While a tug was tasked from Falmouth to provide a tow and take the casualty to a safe port, both lifeboats remained on scene to provide safety cover, ready to respond should the situation change."

Around 4pm with the tug on scene and established, they started the tow, heading for Falmouth.

The Lizard lifeboat were tasked at this point to provide safety cover across Mounts Bay and around Lizard point. RNIB Rose launched at 5.05pm with seven crew. At this time, Sennen Cove were stood down, they returned to station after seven hours at sea.

Tom Mansell, RNLI Lifesaving Lead says the 15 hour service shows the dedication and commitment of the charity’s volunteers;

‘28 lifeboat crew responded to the pager and were out over the course of nearly 15 hours in challenging conditions.

"Many more volunteers will have been involved at all four of the stations, with our shore crew and launching authorities helping to launch and recover the lifeboats and of course waiting for news back at the station.

"Our crew will have left day jobs and family to attend the service, something they never question as they respond to the pager.

"Thankfully it was a situation that didn’t escalate, and the cargo vessel and her crew are safe and well."

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