A mystery mayday call sparked an extensive search of the Inner Moray Firth area last night amid fears that a boat was in distress.
Invergordon lifeboat launched at 4.20pm yesterday afternoon after Aberdeen Coastguard received the Channel 16 international radio distress call, which originated from the Rosemarkie transmitter area.
But after an hour and a half searching the firth, the lifeboat’s crew of seven were unable to establish who had made the call.
As they made their way out the Cromarty Firth, the lifeboat volunteers spoke to a local fisherman who had also picked up the mayday signal but he told them he had seen nothing untoward.
The lifeboat crew continued their search to Nairn, then west to Whiteness Head Point and back across to Chanonry Point in the Black Isle before searching south of the Sutors at the mouth of the Cromarty Firth.
Michael MacDonald, spokesman for Invergordon lifeboat, said: “It was a strong mayday alert and there was no other spoken voice. The mayday was also heard by a small local fishing boat in the Cromarty Bay area.
“It could well be that it was someone just inadvertently putting out a mayday but with nothing to back it up there is certainly a mystery. As it was an international distress call it was deemed appropriate to carry out a search.”
Lifeboat coxswain Andrew Murray said: “The word ‘mayday’ is internationally known and used as a distress signal when spoken or transmitted to draw attention to a life threatening emergency. When heard it cannot be taken lightly.”
There have been no searches since the lifeboat was stood down at about 5.45pm on Monday and no other lifeboats were involved. No further searches are planned at this stage.