FV LA CONFIANCE

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Two fishing vessels distressed in storm

In the morning of Nov 9, 2016, two trawlers from Port-en-Bessin suffered engine breakdowns amidst a storm and were towed to port. The "La Confiance II - CN 428363", 30 gt, suffered a failure of the electronics 20 miles north of Port-en-Bessin around 1 a.m. The SNSM lifeboat from Sainte-Anne des Flots towed the 15-m-vessel to Ouistreham in the early hours of the morning in very bad sea conditions. At 3 a.m. the f/v "Bonne Sainte Rita - CN 739822", 37 gt (MMSI-No.: 227109200; CS: FHKV), suffered engine failure in the storm with winds of more than 100 km/h and a very high seas more than 20 miles off the coast while fishing. The outage was caused by an electrical failure, possibly the alternator, which did not allow to restart it. The 16-m-trawler "Vilou" from Portais diverted to the ship and prepared a cable to take it in tow which was a difficult operation in the rough sea. After several attempts, it finally was successful. The conditions, however, did not allow to recover the nets of the "Bonne Sainte Rita" which had to be left on the bottom. Both ships were slowly approaching Port-en-Bessin but first, it seemed impossible to enter the port during the high tide in the afternoon due to the low speed of only two knots. The two ships therefore planned to return in the morning of Nov 10. A lull of a few hours saved them from another night at sea and they returned safely at 7 p.m. French report with photo: http://www.larenaissance-lebessin.fr/2016/11/10/tempete-en-manche-deux-chalutiers-portais-en-difficulte/