Cargo ship grounds on Clyde island
Coaster mv FINGAL grounds on notorious Sanda



The 80 metre Motor Vessel FINGAL ran aground at Sanda, south of The Mull of Kintyre late Friday evening, 7th August, whilst on passage from Campbeltown to Londonderry with a cargo of timber.

The vessel is registered in Antilles, Netherlands and had 6 crew on board.

Clyde Coastguard put out a mayday relay broadcast to shipping in the area for assistance and scrambled a Royal Navy Rescue helicopter from Prestwick to the scene as well as sending the Southend Coastguard Rescue team and also requesting the launch of the Campbeltown RNLI all-weather and inshore lifeboat.

John Griffiths, Duty Area Officer, said he was concerned with the increasing list of the vessel as the tide fell and that the evacuation of all non essential crew had taken place, leaving only the master and the engineer aboard. A tug from Greenock was despatched to assist the vessel and was towed into port (Troon) on Saturday morning.

The FINGAL is operated by the German shipping firm of Fehn Bereederungs GmbH & Co and was built in 1984 at  Gebr. Kötter Schiffswerft-Sägewerk/ Haren, Germany.

Many ships have grounded on the island of Sanda in the Firth of Clyde. Amongst them have been the American Liberty Ship, BYRON DARNTON which came to grief there in 1946 and the cattle carrier HEREFORD EXPRESS in 1970.