Porthcawl RNLI’s volunteer crew were paged by HM Coastguard following a Mayday call from a lone skipper who was onboard a former lifeboat off Llantwit Major beach. The skipper had seen a large amount of smoke from his engine room and suspected there may be a fire. He had dropped anchor and stopped both engines.

The Coastguard recsue helicopter from St. Athan and Barry Dock lifeboats were also tasked to the incident. The Coastguard rescue helicopter was first on scene by which time the skipper had established that the smoke was the result of an engine overheat on its starboard engine.

When Porthcawl lifeboat arrived on scene shortly afterwards two crew members were placed onboard to assist the skipper. When the Barry Dock lifeboat arrived it was decided the casualty vessel could continue its passage to Cardiff using its port engine under the escort of Barry Dock lifeboat. The Porthcawl crew members assisted the skipper with retrieving the anchor.

The Porthcawl crew members were recovered onboard the Atlantic 85 which returned to station and was made ready for service.

To help power Porthcawl RNLI volunteers to our next rescue: https://fundraise.rnli.org/fundraisers/Porthcawl

In a coastal emergency dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard.