23 July 2025
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
Castletownbere lifeboat was launched this morning (Wednesday 23rd July 2025) to go to the immediate assistance of a local trawler which got into difficulty off the West Cork Coast.
The Irish Coast Guard’s Marine Research Coordination Centre in Valentia tasked the RNLI lifeboat when it had received a report that a 44-foot trawler, with three persons on board, had gone ashore North of Dursey Sound and was taking water.
Castletownbere’s RNLI lifeboat, ‘Annette Hutton’, was tasked at 07.55 and launched within minutes under the command of Coxswain Sean O’Sullivan, mechanic Martin Cronin with volunteer crew Carl Cronin, Dion Kelly and Will Power.
The stricken vessel had managed to steam towards Castletownbere and when the lifeboat located the vessel West of Crow Head at 08.40, two local fishing boats were on standby to lend assistance. Weather on scene was described as ‘calm’. The Shannon-based Coastguard rescue helicopter ‘Rescue 115’ arrived ten minutes later. Once it was established that the vessel was able to make way under her own steam, the helicopter was stood down and the lifeboat escorted the vessel to Castletownbere Pier arriving at 10:20. One crew member received medical attention at Castletownbere.
Lifeboat Operations Manager, Paul Stevens, complimented the lifeboat crew on their swift response, and thanked local fishing vessels and the Coastguard helicopter for their timely assistance.
