NSL-CHALLENGER

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Wind farm vessel towed to Liverpool

The Hoylake lifeboat was called in the night of Sep 15, 2019, after the "NSL Challenger" with seven people on board suffered mechanical difficulties and was drifting into the Burbo turbine area just north of the Burbo in Liverpool Bay after a rope had fouled its drives. The ship was making slow progress into the Mersey with reduced power after earlier attempts by another vessel to establish a tow line had been unsuccessful. The Hoylake RNLI launched the Shannon class lifeboat 'Edmund Hawthorn Micklewood', arriving at the location within 20 minutes. The lifeboat escorted the catamaran until its engines had to be shut down just off Crosby. The skipper asked to be taken under tow by the lifeboat as it was now drifting in the Mersey’s busy shipping channel. With a tow line secured the lifeboat then towed the vessel into the river where they waited together for access to the Liverpool dock system through Langton Lock. After other commercial marine traffic had left the lock at 11.30 p.m. the lifeboat brought the wind farm boat into Canada No. 2 Dock where it was berthed safely onto the quayside in the early morning of Sep 16. The Hoylake lifeboat left the dock two hours later. It was washed down and made ready for service again by 4.25 a.m. Report with photo: https://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/17907160.hoylake-rnli-action-wind-farm-boat-loses-power-near-merseys-busy-shipping-lanes/