Nato military exercises lead to Highland lifeboat call-out
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Nato war games sparked a major air and sea emergency off Lochinver on Monday night.
Stornoway Coastguard operations detected an aircraft locator distress beacon in the middle of the Minch around 6pm.
With a number of military vessels in the area, and the potential for an aircraft in distress in the water, HM Coastguard’s operations team sent both Stornoway and Lochinver lifeboats to the scene, as well as the Stornoway-based coastguard search and rescue helicopter.
A spokesperson for Lochinver Lifeboat said: "Stornoway Coastguard tasked both Lochinver and Stornoway lifeboats, as well as the Stornoway Coastguard search and rescue helicopter, in response to an aircraft’s locator distress beacon in the middle of the Minch, about 18 miles west of Lochinver.
"With Nato military exercises ongoing in the Minch at the moment, there are several naval ships in the area. After a 45-minute bumpy passage, on arrival at the position last given by the emergency beacon, nothing immediate was found and the lifeboats were waiting for further instruction from the coastguard.
"However, there was a warship nearby with a large helicopter on its deck. The coastguard’s search and rescue helicopter, searching from above, identified the signal as possibly originating from the position of the warship and may in fact have been safely on board the vessel and not actually in distress in the sea. The lifeboats and helicopter were all then stood down to return to their respective stations."
Eleven Nato nations are taking part in the war games, bringing 25 warships, three submarines, over 30 aircraft and around 6750 military personnel – including 500 ground troops – to military ranges across and to maritime exercise areas.
Nato operations Dynamic Mariner 21 and Joint Warrior 21-2 are continuing around the islands until September 30.
War games take in swathe of Ross-shire
