The fishing vessel Meridian, registered at Kirkcaldy and operating out of Anstruther in the Fife area of Scotland has been missing since Thursday. At the height of the storms that day, a signal was picked up from an emergency beacon, which is activated on immersion in water. The signal came from the middle of the North Sea, 160 miles / 260 km east of Aberdeen.
British and Norwegian Coastguards have been scouring the area with boats and helicopters since Thursday; the area is in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The Meridian was patrolling the path of a pipeline. Debris has been located in the area, although not identified. One piece constituted a liferaft. The Meridian carried two, and also had survival suits available for the crew. It is on the strength of that, that there is still a slender hope that the men are alive, in a liferaft.
One body has been recovered from the water; its identity has not been released by police. The four man crew are 49-year-old skipper Martin Gardner, Edward
Gardner, 50, and Ian Donald, 55, all from Anstruther, Fife, and Sidney
Low, 52, from Aberdeen.
The small community of Anstruther is deeply affected by this incident; although it has lost its herring fishery fleet years ago, there is still a sea-going tradition and any loss is keenly felt.
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Very sad indeed. Fishing communities do feel the loss of anyone greatly. My thoughts are with their families.
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Very sad. I never realized how dangerous being a fisherman is.
ReplyDeletePam
That type of fishing job actually has high risks that most never realize. This is very sad.
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Ang
I pray that the rest of them will be found and I pray for the comfort of their families. Helen
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