Royal Navy sailors praised for racing to the rescue of stricken ship in the Solent

HMS Mersey scrambled to help occupants Elizabeth Star, which had lost its steering in the Solent, near Spithead anchorages.

Within five minutes of the urgent cry for help going out on the radio, Mersey had deployed a sea-boat as sailors headed off at full-speed to provide aid.

Joining forces with another yacht, the Sailing Grace, Mersey’s boat set up a tow and supported the operation to bring Elizabeth Star safely back to Gosport Marina.

Lieutenant Commander Will Edwards-Bannon, Mersey’s captain, said: ‘I am very proud of my team’s response to this situation. Although we train hard to deal with situations like this as part of our routine maritime security operations around the UK, it is still always impressive to see just how swiftly and smoothly the teamwork kicks-in when an unalerted emergency scenario occurs.

‘As is so often the case, it was a collective effort from various mariners to ensure that this particular situation did not develop into anything more serious and all of us in Mersey are certainly pleased to have been able to play our part in helping achieve this positive result.’

AB Orin Mann, is Mersey’s sea-boat coxswain and was involved in the rescue effort.

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He said: ‘We got the relevant equipment and managed to launch the sea-boat in less than five minutes from hearing the pipe.

‘We got to the Elizabeth Star to assist with setting-up a tow between her and the Sailing Grace, which then did a great job of towing her into Gosport Marina.

‘If it wasn’t for the teamwork of Mersey’s ship’s company and the crew of Sailing Grace then things could have been a lot worse.’

Portsmouth-based Mersey is one of the navy offshore patrol ships and happened to be carrying out training in the Solent when the emergency call went out.

The ship’s normal role will see it enforcing fishery laws around the UK coastline, as well as carrying out counter-piracy and counter-narcotic missions at home and abroad.

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