– It is a security for us fishermen to know that there is a lifeboat in Mehamn. Without it, help will be further away when we need it, says Pedersen. For several years, the rescue company has had four lifeboats deployed in Finnmark; in Havøysund, Mehamn, Båtsfjord and Vardø. Recently, the company decided to take the skate RS 111 Peter Henry von Koss in Mehamn out of operation. RS Peter Henry von Koss in Mehamn is out of operation indefinitely. Photo: Sebastian Winum Storvik / news Now the approximately 200-kilometer weather-hard stretch between Havøysund and Båtsfjord is without the rescue company’s presence. This is about as far as the sea route between Kristiansand and Stavanger. Experienced horror Kim Abel has even felt on his body how vital it is to get help at sea when you need it. We turn the clock back to the autumn of 2019. The new shipowner is 19 years old and has invested in his own fishing boat. On the way from Kjøllefjord to Honningsvåg, things go wrong. The 19-year-old notices that smoke is coming up in the cabin, and quickly finds out that it is burning. He and his friend are about two hours away from the mainland. And the fire can not be extinguished. – I called the main rescue center for northern Norway, and minutes later the rescue boats in Mehamn and Havøysund were on tour. In teams with the Coast Guard and a rescue helicopter. We were lifted out of the boat, and soon after the fire was extinguished. – Knowing that the help was not so far away felt good, says the young professional fisherman. Kim Abel Pedersen (22) fishes from Kjøllefjord in the boat Pernille Madelen. On one of the first trips, it was about to go wrong, when it started to burn in the boat. Photo: Niclas Øfeldt Accident area Kim Abel’s history is just one of many along the Finnmark coast. It is sometimes a harsh weather area, and many have lost their lives here over the years. This year alone, there have been at least two very serious incidents along the coast of East Finnmark. In January, former leader of the Norwegian Fishermen’s Association and local politician, Reidar Nilsen, and his son Remi Andre Nilsen, sank outside Gamvik. Both were later found dead. And at the end of June, 35-year-old Oliver Žuvel had problems when the weather changed. He recovered after three days. Lost, but alive. Gone forever? The rescue company says they take the safety of people traveling along the Finnmark coast seriously. Nevertheless, they have now chosen to reduce emergency preparedness in Finnmark. On Monday, the company announced to the main rescue center that there will no longer be a crew on RS 111 Peter Henry von Koss in Mehamn. This is due to reallocations in the company. – We have the opportunity to move the vessel in Båtsfjord closer to Mehamn, to shorten the distance, says Bjørn Vidar Evjen, emergency guard in the Rescue Company. – It is not necessarily the number of boats that is important, but that they are in the right place. We may get von Koss back in operation, but when and if that will happen is difficult to say. The emergency guard in the Rescue Company, Bjørn Vidar Evjen, does not know how long RS Peter Henry von Koss will be out of operation. – The number of assignments in the area will provide the answers we need, he says. Photo: Bjørn Vidar Evjen Raises the case Fiskarlaget Nord is very concerned that the safety of fishermen in the north is currently weakened. They have now sent a letter to the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness requesting that planning work be started to strengthen emergency preparedness at sea along the Finnmark coast. – We are regularly contacted by fishermen and local fishing groups who are concerned about the emergency preparedness. Now we want the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Management to draw up a comprehensive and future plan for the area, says Roger Hansen, leader of Fiskarlaget Nord. The Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness tells news that they have received a letter from Fiskarlaget Nord, and are in the process of providing a response. They will not answer questions until this job is done. Photo: Eirik Hind Sveen / news – Must think new Kim Abel has no doubt that RS 111 Peter Henry von Koss must return to operation as soon as possible. People’s safety at sea depends on it. But if that does not happen, he and the other fishermen will have to start thinking again. – We have to relate to the job in a new way without a lifeboat in Mehamn. Maybe get a little better at not going out alone on the fishing field, Pedersen says.
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– People at sea have to wait for many hours – news Troms and Finnmark
