The Ocean Youth Trust has issued a statement regarding the sinking of their only sail training vessel, the 70-foot ketch the Lord Rank.

Bronagh Cappa, Chief Executive of the trust, said:

“The Ocean Youth Trust is greatly saddened by the loss of our only vessel, the Lord Rank, but is delighted that none of the six people aboard were injured during what was a textbook evacuation.

“The Lord Rank, a 68ft Oyster ketch crewed by a fully-qualified skipper, first mate and crewman, had a perfect safety record over 19 years at sea with the Ocean Youth Trust, working with tens of thousands of young people around Ireland.

“Around 10 o’clock last night the vessel hit rocks at a particularly treacherous part of the North Antrim Coast.  The RNLI and Coastguard responded promptly and the crew and three passengers were safely taken off by dinghy.

“The Lord Rank sank around 4am during a salvage attempt.

“An investigation is underway into the circumstances of the incident and we cannot comment further until that is concluded.  However, we are relieved and delighted that all involved emerged completely unscathed.”