The skipper of a trawler at the centre of a 20-hour rescue mission has thanked all those involved.
The 85ft Banff-registered Enterprise II suffered engine failure and began taking on water about 60 miles west of Sumburgh on Thursday.
Force eight winds added to the choppy conditions – making it hard for nearby vessels to get the boat, which had six crew onboard, under tow.
Now skipper James Lovie has thanked the coastguard, RNLI Aith and vessels that came to their aid and finally got them back to safety.
He said it was oil boat Grampian Dynamic which first took his call for help when they got into difficulty at about 5pm.
Mr Lovie was then able to raise the alarm with his wife to contact fellow fishermen for a tow before all power was lost.
Rescue crews did an ‘awesome’ job
The coastguard helicopter provided a pump to the stricken vessel, while RNLI Aith gave cover when it was taken under tow by a nearby fishing boat the following morning.
“We had to pump the boat out four times with the diesel pump lowered by the helicopter before we reached Scalloway,” Mr Lovie said.
The Enterprise II was safely towed into Scalloway, with the Aith crew calling time on their 20-hour shift, arriving back at their base at 3am on Saturday.
Mr Lovie added: “HM Coastguard helicopter crew did an awesome job when they delivered a pump to Enterprise II (BF1), when the vessel lost power, and started taking water.
“I take my hat off to you guys – thank you very, very much, also to the guys on the Aith lifeboat, thank you very, very much for your long stint, standing by, and suppling us with more torch power.
“Also not forgetting the skipper/owner and crew of the fishing boat Aalskere, who finally got us under tow and safely returning us to port, where they welcomed us to come aboard for a hot meal and charge our phones.
“We appreciate greatly all those who were involved, and helped get us back to shore.”