A life raft that was being towed to a north-east port has been found washed up on a beach.
The extensively damaged device was discovered at Fraserburgh yesterday having broken off the tow of a fishing boat that was bringing it into the town’s harbour for repairs.
The bright orange vessel came from a dive vessel called Normand Subsea and was originally lost off Shetland last week.
It is understood to have ended up on sands near Fraserburgh yesterday.
A Coastguard spokeswoman said: “It is a lifeboat from a dive vessel that was lost in bad weather.
“The owners have been notified and the recovery process is in progress.
“It was being towed into Fraserburgh harbour and it broke the tow line overnight or early this morning.”
A statement from Aberdeen-based i-Tech services said: “i-Tech Services can confirm that a lifeboat was lost from Normand Subsea during extreme weather on 7 December, West of Shetland.
“The lifeboat was being recovered by a fishing vessel when tow was lost yesterday evening and the lifeboat has since been washed ashore onto Fraserburgh beach.
“Plans to recover the lifeboat are underway.”
Aberdeenshire Council have confirmed it had been notified but had no involvement in the recovery operation.