Major vessel sinks in Oban Bay
A major vessel has sunk in Oban Bay this morning, with Oban RNLI already responding to the incident.
Earlier this morning, the vessel, officially identified as the workboat Headcorn, which eyewitnesses spotted listing while moored in Oban Bay near the sailing club.
The ship eventually sank, with Oban Lifeboat paged to the scene at 7.30am to make sure nobody was onboard. They were joined by a helicopter crew from HM Coastguard.
The RNLI returned from the scene shortly before 9am this morning.
As of 10am, the wreck became fully submerged, with the radar mast all that remained above water.
The member of the public who put in the call to the RNLI, Johnathan Nicol, said: "I saw it from the road, it looked like the boat was over on it’s side.
"We left our mooring and just as we got close to it, it started sinking under. I flipped my phone out to record and called the RNLI."
That video is available to watch here.
The vessel currently lies in the Kerrera sound, with a recovery response expected in the coming days.
Ewen MacKerchar, Marine operations Manager at the Northern Lighthouse Board, has warned mariners to be wary of the wreckage. The NLB will be deploying an Emergency Wreck Marking Buoy at the site to alert passing ships.
He said: "The Headcorn has sunk, it’s on the bottom of the sound, and we have a statutory duty to mark wrecks like this that could be a threat to mariners.
"We’ll place a buoy adjacent to the wreck to alert vessels that are close to it."
The NLB is urging mariners not to approach until the situation is resolved.
The Headcorn’s owners have also been contacted for comment.
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