A 22 year-old man who is thought to have spent more than a month on board a French sailing vessel which was reported as stolen over a month ago in Brittany, has been rescued by the Naval Service.
The man, who is understood to be Russian, was rescued by the Naval Service's patrol ship LE Aislingsome 250 miles west of the Aran islands after the ship and an RAF Nimrod aircraft found the vessel yesterday evening after an extensive air and sea search.
Le Katell, a four-metre vessel, was first spotted by a British-registered Spanish fishing vessel, Willing Boys, on Thursday. Such was its size and distance from shore that the fishing vessel approached it to see if it was in difficulty. The yacht's sole occupant on board appeared to be disorientated, and waved the fishing vessel away.
The sighting was relayed to the Naval Service and Irish Coast Guard, which confirmed with French authorities that the yacht had been reported as stolen from the French port of Morlaix on August 28th.
Under international UNCLOS maritime regulations, the Naval Service is empowered to board a vessel if safety of life is involved. It has no powers to detain the vessel, but it is expected to report the discovery to the French authorities.