AKILLAMENDI BERRIA

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Trawler disabled off Cushendall

The 'Akillamendi Berria' with 17 crew members on board, suffered an engine failure due to a problem with oil cooler in position 55 04 57N, 005 50 28W, on March 11, 2021, and went adrift 11 miles east of Cushendall. The volunteer crews at both stations were requested to launch their all-weather lifeboats just before 7.30 p.m. following a report from Belfast Coastguard that the trawler had lost all power and was drifting into a shipping lane. Weather conditions at the time were challenging with Storm Force 10 gusts of up to 54 knots and high seas recorded during the course of the call out. The Red Bay RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat 14-32 (MMSI: 232004405) was on scene first to assess the situation. The Larne lifeboat meanwhile was diverted from a training exercise and made its way to the scene. The Red Bay RNLI began to work with the crew of the trawler to establish a towline, while the lifeboat from Larne illuminated the scene. The lifeboat started a slow tow to bring the vessel back to Red Bay but the extreme weather caused the tow to part mid-way. The Larne RNLI established a second tow and brought the trawler the remainder of the way into Red Bay where it was secured at 11 p.m. Both lifeboats were requested to launch once again in the morning of March 12 after the trawler began to drag its anchor out of Waterfoot. In much better conditions and daylight, Red Bay RNLI safely towed the vessel into the shelter of Red Bay. As of 1.45 p.m. it was held in pos. 55° 5.09' N 006° 0.53' W. On March 12 the tug 'Masterman' (IMO 9569023) established a towing connection and was to be taken to Belfast. On March 13 the convoy was anchored in pos. 54° 40.60' N 005° 40.34' W off Bangor. Report with photos: https://rnli.org/news-and-media/2021/march/12/red-bay-and-larne-rnli-bring-17-fishermen-to-safety

Medevac only in 2nd attempt

The Stornoway Coastguard helicopter was dispatched after a fisherman suffered head injuries 60 miles off the Butt of Lewis aboad the "Alillamendi Berria" on Mar 1, 2015. But the crew had to abort the rescue when they were unable to land a winchman on the deck of the vessel at 10 p.m. There was a strong swell and they couldn’t lower a winchman onto the deck. There was quite a lot of fishing gear on the deck at the time and that was also hampering the ability to land. The helicopter returned on Mar 2 at 10.15 a.m. and transported the fisherman to Western Isles Hospital in Stornoway after the vessel had come a bit further south and they had the benefit of daylight. The fisherman was taken to Western Isles Hospital with injuries to his head and the back of his neck.