Danish Navy Rescues Two Crewmembers From Burning Fishing Vessel

On Wednesday, the Danish Navy and the German search and rescue boat Fritz Knack saved the crew of a burning fishing vessel off the coast of Denmark, intervening in time to stop the spread of the fire. 

At about 1400 hours on Wednesday afternoon, the German Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Bremen received a distress call from the fishing vessel Lille Lama, a Danish-registered boat based at the Baltic port of Lundeborg. The vessel had caught fire north of Kiel, not far from the southern entrance to the Great Belt. 

The all-weather lifeboat Fritz Knack of the German Maritime Search and Rescue Service (DGzRS) got under way within minutes and headed for the Lille Lama, which was about 13 nautical miles away. German Navy minesweeper Bad Rappenau was in the vicinity and diverted to join the response, and it assumed the role of on-scene coordinator. The Danish Navy carried out the rescue using a SAR helicopter, which hoisted both crewmembers to safety. 

Fritz Knack was on scene by 1445, and the crew immediately set to the task of extinguishing the fire. Using the vessel's fire monitor, they brought the blaze under control shortly after 1500 hours. A Danish rescue boat arrived to take the burned fishing vessel in tow, and Fritz Knack accompanied the transit into a harbor of refuge at Soby, Denmark, arriving at 1830.