Mola, sailing on autopilot: fishing boat crashes into the pier in Otranto

Tragedy narrowly avoided for a fishing boat from Mola di Bari, engaged in a fishing trip in Otranto. The Coast Guard reported the news yesterday, Sunday 6 July. The accident occurred in the port area of ​​the Salento city, where the captain of the vessel from Mola di Bari allegedly put the automatic pilot on his fishing boat, which, having gone out of control, crashed into the breakwater.

"The fishing boat collided with the dam while reversing," the Salento Coast Guard reported, and the deep-sea fishing trip ended with rescue operations for the damaged vessel and the personnel on board who were at the stern at the time of the impact, cleaning the nets and selecting the catch. The crew was immediately reached by the Coast Guard, who rescued the sailors, escorting and securing the vessel in the port area.

A fine was also issued for those responsible. In fact, according to the military's findings, the commander interviewed by them, would have let the fishing boat proceed on autopilot, with consequences that could have had dramatic consequences. A choice, according to the Coast Guard, incautious that, fortunately, did not have very serious consequences. The fishing boat crashed into the breakwater of the port of Otranto, a port infrastructure that aims to protect boats from wave motion and marine currents, improving the safety and functionality of the port itself.

The impact caused damage to the vessel.

There are several similar precedents. The last one dates back to the last few months, when, again due to the careless insertion of the autopilot, a container ship flying the Belarusian flag, rammed the fishing vessel from Molfetta «Madonna di Medjugorie» off the coast between Bari and Molfetta, without providing assistance. The container was loaded with wheat and was headed to the port of Trieste. The vessel of the Molfetta shipowners, 21 meters long and 15 tons in displacement, suffered damage to the cabin and on the bow side. The crew was unharmed.