Fire crews and coastguard teams save 100-ton fishing boat from sinking at Leith Docks

Firefighters and coastguard teams spent several hours both today and last night saving an old fishing boat from sinking at Leith docks.

The Golden Splendour vessel started taking water on board shortly before 7pm on Sunday, April 7th.

The owner of the 80-ft long boat contacted emergency services and two fire appliances and Fisherrow Coastguard were sent to the scene.

A Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) spokeswoman said that, last night, one side of the boat was 18 inches deep in water and the other side was 4ft deep.

A member of Fisherrow Coastguard/Facebook

A fire service spokeswoman said crews have been working to remove the water using specialist pumps.

The spokeswoman said: “They were out yesterday and today for a couple of hours each time.”

Both the MCA and fire service said the source of the water influx is currently unknown and that no crew were on board the 100-ton vessel at the time.

Fisherrow Coastguard also highlighted their role in the operation on social media and said the boat is currently undergoing a period of refurbishment.

On Facebook, they said: “Coastguard were in attendance to provide incident and rescue support, along with establishing potential pollution risks.

“After several hours, the vessel was sufficiently cleared of water.

“As always it’s 999, and ask for Coastguard or if a watercraft user in distress VHF channel 16.”

The MCA spokeswoman said that Forth Ports would be checking on the vessel every hour.

The vessel is berthed near the Bath Road entrance to Leith Docks.

The Golden Splendour is a decommissioned fishing vessel and was launched in 1973.

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