Fire aboard vessel ten miles from Cornish coast

At 0234 on Sunday, ]anuary 16, Falmouth Coastguard was alerted to the 32-metre Spanish fishing vessel Ross Alcedo, which broadcast a mayday signal that it was on fire, roughly 10 miles off the south Cornish coast, writes Senior Operations Officer Mervyn Kettle.

The 15 crew members advised that they were abandoning the trawler and taking to the liferaft. Although Cornwall County Fire Brigade was advised. offshore response was not mobilised as there was no immediate threat to life from the burning trawler.

Falmouth Coastguard immediately requested the launch of the St. Mary's Lifeboat from the Isles of Scilly while scrambling two rescue helicopters from the Royal Naval Air Station at Culdrose and RAF Chivenor respectively. Meanwhile, the Coastuard rebroadcast the mayday signal into the area, and attracted the attention of a Cypriot freighter Cruise II, which diverted from its passage and picked the crew members up from their liferaft.

The MCA tug Far Minara, which remains on station in Falmouth Bay during the winter months, was despatched. The trawler continued to burn for over 24 hours and was eventually towed into Falmouth harbour by Far Minara mid-morning on Monday, January 17.

An inspection was carried out by officers from Cornwall County Fire Brigade; two crews were used to fully extinguish the fire which continued in three small areas of the trawler. Colin Sturman, District Controller of Falmouth Coastguard, said that two men from the crew were reported to be suffering from smoke inhalation and were taken straight to Treliske Hospital in Truro. The others were looked after by a local Fisherman's Mission after being landed at Culrose.