Falmouth Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre help yacht off Seychelles
Falmouth Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre is currently involved in a search and rescue operation in the Indian Ocean.
Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre Operations Room
At 0830 this morning Falmouth Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) received an emergency positioning beacon alert (EPIRB) from a 45ft yacht with 3 people on board, including a British national, around 300 miles south of the Seychelles.
The vessel has suffered severe damage to its main rudder and is taking on water. The crew is using pumps to limit the amount of water taken onboard.
Falmouth MRCC has asked a Maersk tanker in the region to divert to the yacht. The tanker is expected to arrive at around 1930 UK time. The seas are rough to very rough with wind speeds in excess of 25 knots.
Falmouth has alerted search and rescue authorities in the area including the Seychelles Coastguard.
Falmouth Coastguard Watch Manager, Martin Bidmead, said:
The yacht’s remote location presents a number of challenges and the Falmouth MRCC has alerted the Seychelles Coastguard and other vessels in the region to get the search and rescue operation under way and assist the crew of this yacht as quickly as possible. We continue to be in touch with the vessel providing advice and updates.