Police boat and fire crews scrambled after sailing boat makes mayday call in Portsmouth Harbour

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Fire crews from Southsea, Gosport, and Fareham fire stations, alongside police and ambulance services, were called to the ferry launches in Gosport and Gunwarf Quays in Portsmouth after a mayday call from a small sailing vessel in the harbour at 6.18pm on Sunday.

A spokesman from HM Coastguard said: ‘Gosport Independent Lifeboat, Hampshire Fire And Rescue Service, Hampshire Constabulary, and South Central Ambulance Service were tasked to assist a sailing vessel that made a mayday call.

‘A police launch assisted the crew to extinguish the fire and tow the vessel to Gunwharf Quays.’

Hampshire fire crews were called to a mayday call from a sailing boat in Portsmouth Harbour.

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Southsea station firefighters were told that the incident was sparked by a ‘small electrical fault’, which led to the four people onboard making the distress call as a precaution.

A firefighter called to the incident said: ‘It was much ado about nothing.

‘But they did the right thing – it’s always better to be safe than sorry if something’s not right.’

No injuries or damage to property were reported.