THE CHC Sikorsky S-61 based at the Irish Coast Guard base in Sligo winched five fishing crew to safety in Lough Swilly, Co Donegal, early yesterday, following the grounding on rocks of an 18-metre crab fishing vessel, the Niamh Áine.
The alert was raised shortly before 2am yesterday when Malin Coast Guard picked up a mayday from the vessel about 19km (12 miles) north of Buncrana.
The all-weather and inshore RNLI lifeboats at Lough Swilly were tasked, under the command of coxswain Mark Barnett and Eamon Mahon, and Greencastle Coast Guard unit, along with Sligo helicopter Rescue 118.
Lough Swilly lifeboat operations manager Liam Magee said that the crabber was so far up on the rocks on a headland known as Leenan that it was inaccessible. "With surf breaking on the rocks, it was too dangerous to go in, so we asked for the helicopter's assistance," he said.
The helicopter ascertained that none of the crew was in immediate danger and refuelled at Carrickfin airport, Co Donegal. It returned at first light to lift off the five, none of whom were reported as injured.
Weather conditions were reasonable, with a force two north-west wind, according to the RNLI, but the particular sea area in the lough is prone to strong Atlantic swells. The vessel, owned by Patrick Friel of Donegal, was still up on the rocks yesterday, pending further assessment.
Meanwhile, Irish Coast Guard helicopters were on standby to assist their Scottish counterparts at the weekend, following the grounding of several Sikorsky S92 craft at Scottish rescue bases for safety reasons.
CHC Helicopters was instructed by helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky to ground its S92 models at Sumburgh in Shetland and Stornoway on the outer Hebrides after last week's helicopter crash off Newfoundland which claimed 17 lives. The instruction was issued "pending an urgent modification" of the S92 fleet, according to the manufacturer, after a broken gearbox mounting stud was found in the wreckage. The helicopter was transporting crews to offshore oil platforms when it hit the ocean about 55km southeast of St John's.
CHC also provides search and rescue cover at the Irish Coast Guard's four helicopter bases, but with a fleet of six Sikorsky S-61 helicopters.
Sikorsky had begun final negotiations to sell a fleet of S-92s to Ireland for the Air Corps almost nine years ago when the deal became the subject of a legal challenge by another manufacturer, Eurocopter. The purchase was then scrapped after the 2002 general election.
