PROSPECT BF573

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Skipper was at fault in sinking incident

An investigation into why the "Prospect" on Aug 5, 2013, sank in Lerwick harbour has concluded the skipper was at fault. Now a Marine Accident Investigation Branch report found the skipper had been distracted by using his mobile phone while changing course. The volume on his on board radio was so low he failed to hear two warnings from the Shetland port's watch keeper. Skipper Neil King, of MacDuff, who has nearly 40 years experience in the fishing industry, has been advised to attend a navigation skills refresher course.

Prospect back at the surface

On Aug 22 the "Prospect" was finally raised off Lerwick with the help of liftbags. The vessel was successfully lifted off the bottom of Lerwick’s north navigational channel in the early hours by a crew from salvage company Ocean Kinetics, which had battled equipment and stability problems for a part of a week. In near-perfect conditions, the vessel was towed by the Lerwick Port Authority vessels "Kebister" and "Knab" to the Greenhead Base. There was a very high tide at that time which was necessary as the vessel was still largely submerged and drawing over 30ft of water. The tow was very smooth and the vessel was secured alongside in just over an hour. Divers then fitted slings around the hull for two large cranes from Peterson (UK) Ltd. to gently lift the Prospect above the waterline. By 3.30 am, the deck of the vessel was above water and pumps were then deployed to pump water from the vessel. Ocean Kinetics’ attempts to raise the 65ft Whitehills-owned trawler had previously run into persistent problems. A meeting took place on Aug 19 involving all of the parties involved in the salvage bid to map out the way forward after two attempts to raise the "Prosect", which was lying in 50 ft of water had to be aborted. Divers had spent much of the preceding week removing heavy deck gear from the vessel’s deck and superstructure to make the operation more straightforward. But their early attempts to re-float the vessel were stymied by leakage from the flotation bags being used to lift the wreck off the bottom. Photo: http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=1861268

Prospect reemerged after more than two weeks

The "Prospect" that sunk in Lerwick harbour more than two weeks ago has partially refloated as the fourth attempt to salvage the ship got underway on Aug 21. Divers from Ocean Kinetics managed to lift her off the seabed in the afternoon and were preparing the submerged vessel to be towed to the Greenhead Base. The preparation work was expected to last most of the evening. An attempt to tow the vessel might be made at slack tide between 1 and 2 a.m. Report with photo: http://www.shetnews.co.uk/news/7251-prospect-re-emerges-from-below-the-waves