1121/2024 - Missing vessel

31/08/2024

The Service was called by CROSS Corsen MRCC to assist French lifeboats with a search for a small motor vessel, with one person on board - a 75 year old male.

The Service's aircraft, Lions' Pride, took off at 1915 hrs and transited to the search area, approx 80 nm south west of Guernsey.

Visibility at the time was good enough to use both visual and infra-red camera search techniques. A possible contact was identified and investigated but this was ruled out and the search pattern was resumed.

As daylight was lost the search was continued using the infra-red camera only until Corsen MRCC stood the Service down at 2205 hrs and Lions' Pride returned to Guernsey, to be refuelled and made ready for the next service.

Overall, visibility for searching was good with other surface vessels and other small floating objects such as seaweed clearly visible. Lions' Pride searched an area of 240 square nm but there were no signs of the overdue vessel or its occupant.