Lifeboat falls off ship at anchorage

'At 11h00 (Wednesday, 10 August, 2011) our NSRI Durban volunteer duty crew were activated following a request for assistance from the ships agent of the container ship STOLT MOUNTAIN reporting one of the ships life-boats come loose and fallen off the ship, which is at anchorage about 5 nautical miles off-shore of Durban's Port, and reported to be unmanned and drifting away from the ship in the 20 knot Westerly winds.'Our NSRI Durban volunteers launched our sea rescue craft EIKOS RESCUER II and our off-duty NSRI volunteer Paul Dawson, who was at sea at the time aboard the skipper training craft ALICE volunteered to go to the scene to investigate.'On arrival on-scene Paul found the life-boat drifting, already 5 nautical miles from her ship, and in 2.5 meter choppy sea swells Paul put a line to the life-boat to hold her pending the arrival of our sea rescue craft.'On our arrival on-scene we put a tow-line to the life-boat and towed her to Durban's Port where we handed her to a Marine Repair Agent who, according to the ships agent, will effect some minor repairs to the life-boat before returning the life-boat to her ship. .'It is not known to NSRI what caused the life-boat to come loose from her ship.'