15-Man Crew Of Galician Fishing Boat Rescued In British Waters After Fire Breaks Out

The 15-man crew of a Galician fishing vessel had to be rescued this morning, Sunday, July 2, after a fire broke out on board.

There were no reports of any injuries after the incident in the Gran Sol. The sailors from the Nuevo San Juan fishing boat that is based in the Lugo town of Burela were rescued by another fishing vessel, the Nuevo Confurco.

As soon as the blaze broke out the 15 crew members abandoned the ship and took to the lifeboats. While they were rescued safe and sound, material possessions were regrettably lost in the incident. The longline trawler is 31.5 metres in length and specialises in fishing for hake.

The boat was located in British SAR zone waters

Maritime Rescue confirmed that it received a distress call at its centre in Fisterra from the Nuevo San Juan reporting a fire on board. At the time of calling, the vessel was located in the British SAR zone they explained.

Using this information, Salvamento informed its counterpart in the United Kingdom, which diverted several vessels to the area.

Although it is too early to pinpoint the exact cause of the fire, initial indications pointed to a short circuit in the Galician ship’s wiring.

Once the crew arrive on dry land then a thorough investigation will be conducted. They are currently heading to the Irish port of Castletownbere, as reported by levante-emv.com.

The vessel was en route from French to Irish waters

In statements to FARO, the manager of the Puerto de Burela Fishery Producers Organisation – to which the burned ship belongs – assured that the fire occurred when the ship was en route from French to Irish waters, its last reported location.

In a tweet, it wrote: “This morning our sister vessel ‘Nuevo San Juan’, which was carrying out its fishing activities in Irish waters, suffered a fire on board”.

Esta mañana nuestro buque asociado "Nuevo San Juan", que estaba realizando sus actividades pesqueras en aguas irlandesas, ha sufrido un incendio a bordo. pic.twitter.com/i1kZtVbZgw

— OPP-7 Puerto de Burela (@oppburela) July 2, 2023

According to reports, the fire on board the Nuevo San Juan was still burning as there was no extinction work taking place. At this stage, it was a case of simply controlling the direction that it was heading they explained. The ship is likely to explode once the flames reach its fuel supply, unless it sinks first.