The captain of a tug boat that towed a stricken cargo ship to safety has been praised for potentially preventing an environmental disaster on the Cornish coast.

The 31,000-tonne ro-ro (roll-on, roll-off) vessel Mazarine suffered damage to its hull and ran aground after it lost power dangerously close to Wolf Rock lighthouse, eight miles off Land’s End, on 10 July 2023, in poor weather conditions.

Mazarine had been en route from Ireland to Zeebrugge, Belgium, at the time of the incident.

Two lifeboats from Penlee and Sennen Cove and a Coastguard helicopter arrived at the site in case of injury. The vessel refloated and drifted for several hours before the tug A&P Falmouth Mercia connected a tow to bring the vessel back to Falmouth’s ship repair dock.

The ship’s operators CLdN confirmed the 22 crew and three passengers on board the vessel were safe and unharmed. No damage has been observed on the lighthouse, according to its owners.

A CLdN spokesperson told the BBC: “After running aground, two of the ballast tanks were breached, and water ingress was reported, which has been since contained.”

The vessel was taken within harbour limits at Falmouth on Wednesday (12 July 2023) to allow an underwater survey.

Speaking to BBC, Miles Carden, chief executive of Falmouth Harbour, confirmed the harbour commissioners had a “huge number of factors to consider the risks from the vessel”, and they “need to be reassured around the potential for pollution” before bringing it alongside.

The vessel has since been brought alongside county wharf in Falmouth docks.

Capt Mark Rickard, a tug master and marine operations manager at A&P Falmouth, was master on the tug Mercia. Rickard and his crew successfully connected a tow line to Mazarine and towed the vessel to Falmouth, thereby preventing any potential environmental disaster from taking place.

Posting on Facebook, Packet In Port correspondent and retired harbour pilot David Barnicoat said Rickard had saved the day, helping to avoid an oil spill.

“Tug Mercia under the command of Capt Mark Rickard and his crew saved the day with their valiant efforts in securing the tow in poor sea conditions and towing the vessel to Falmouth,” Barnicoat writes.

Capt Rickard replied to say: “Thanks DB! I had a great team onboard Mercia which made it all possible! Matt Cook, Simon Berryman — thanks.”

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