RCMP vessel rescues crew from sunken tug off Vancouver Island’s West Coast

NANAIMO, B.C. – RCMP says its patrol vessel, the Inkster, was just minutes away from a sinking tug when its crew sent out a mayday call on Sunday morning.

The RCMP vessel was heading towards Ucluelet on the West Coast of Vancouver Island when the distress call came in over the radio.

The Inkster crew determined it was about 15 minutes from the scene and changed course.

Just minutes later, the crew members of the tug, the Schooner Cove, advised that they were taking on water and were abandoning ship.

An RCMP news release says the Inkster came upon the two crew members in a life raft about 5 minutes later.

The crewmen, one from Tofino and the other from Ucluelet, were cold and wet, but unharmed.