Two lifeboats raced to help a cargo ship that had run aground and was drifting towards the Skye Bridge.
The vessel, just under 300ft long, was drifting sideways across the shipping lane in the direction of the bridge and nearby rocks.
Coastguards tried to contact the crew onboard the vessel using VHF radio but received no response.
They raised the alarm at about 3.30pm on Friday, with RNLI crews from Kyle and Portree sent to the scene.
Once arriving alongside the ship, the crew from the Kyle lifeboat tried again to make contact with those onboard, but they still could not get a response.
A spokesman from the lifeboat described the situation as “serious”.
He said: “When we arrived on scene the situation was serious, the vessel was no longer aground, but was floating broadside across the shipping channel and was drifting dangerously close to the bridge and nearby rocks.
“The vessel’s crew were not answering VHF radio calls and were not responding to the lifeboat crews attempts to make contact with them.”
Back to safety
Soon after the lifeboat made it to the cargo ship, it managed to restore propulsion and make its way towards the nearby pier at the Mowi Kyleakin fish plant.
A spokesman from Kyle lifeboat added: “Luckily the vessel managed to restore propulsion and made her own way the short distance to the Mowi pier in Kyleakin.”
The Kyle lifeboat shadowed this short journey to ensure it arrived safely.
Though the Portree lifeboat hadn’t yet reached the incident, it was stood down as it was no longer needed.
The Kyle crew stayed at the Mowi pier with the cargo ship until local coastguard crews arrived on the scene, then they were stood down and sent back to base at around 6.30pm.