Incident Date | 15-01-2026 |
| Launch Instruct | 04:30 |
| Lifeboat Used | ALB |
| Location of Casualty | Lyme Bay area. |
A fishing vessel with two people on board had alerted HM Coastguard they’d lost power and were drifting in open seas south-east of Exmouth mussel farm. With nearby unexploded ordinance and the resulting exclusion zone around Exmouth preventing the launch of RNLI Exmouth’s All-Weather Lifeboat (ALB), Solent Coastguard tasked Torbay RNLI’s Severn-Class ALB to respond.
With the fishing vessel in open waters, and without lights due to the loss of power, the crew determined the vessel and her crew needed to be towed out of the area to safety. Having established a tow in the darkness, the ALB and the fishing vessel then began the long journey back to Brixham with dawn still to break.
On arrival at Brixham Harbour shortly after 9am, the vessel was safely secured alongside the harbour’s Fish Quay, before the ALB was refuelled and readied for further service by 9:50am.
Torbay Lifeboats 