Solway Harvester's sister vessel sinks

The crew of a fishing vessel were rescued from a liferaft yesterday after their vessel sank suddenly off the Scottish coast.

The crew of a fishing vessel were rescued from a liferaft yesterday after their vessel sank suddenly off the Scottish coast.

The 60ft Karianda - sister ship of the Solway Harvester, which sank earlier this year with the loss of all seven crew members - went down off the north-east coast of Scotland.

The three crew members were airlifted to safety by a helicopter from RAF Lossiemouth after leaving their stricken boat for a liferaft.

The Ballantrae-registered Karianda and another sister ship, the St Keverne, both belonging to Hull-based Jack Robinson (Trawlers) Ltd, were detained earlier this year by maritime surveyors who said they were unseaworthy, but the vessels were subsequently released.

Coastguards were alerted to yesterday's incident when they received a distress call from the Karianda around 15 miles east of Stonehaven off the Aberdeenshire coast.

The sinking of the Karianda comes only months after that of the Solway Harvester, which went down in high winds and heavy seas off the Isle of Man on 11 January.