Rosslare Harbour RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat responded on Saturday morning (30 July) to a local fisherman who reported his vessel was rapidly taking on water.
The volunteer crew launched at 9.40am and headed to the scene 10 miles north of Rosslare Europort, where they passed over a salvage pump to help remove the water from the fishing boat.
However, with the water at waist height, the crew of the casualty vessel were concerned and close to abandoning ship.
The lifeboat coxswain Eammon O’Rourke ordered the Y boat to be deployed for the crew of the fishing vessel, but eventually the salvage pump made better progress in emptying the water from inside the hull.
After several hours, all the water was pumped out and the casualty vessel was stabilised. The vessel was then towed back to the safety of Rosslare Europort.
Commenting later, O’Rourke said: “This was an excellent service where the power and speed of the Severn lifeboat combined with our well-trained volunteer crew undoubtedly saved the fishing boat crew and their vessel.”