On Saturday evening, July 1st, a rescue mission was undertaken to save a male passenger who fell into the water from the Stena Superfast VIII ferry.
The overboard happened during the Ireland-Scotland crossing Belfast-Cairnryan (Saturday departure at 3:30 pm from Belfast). The man fell while the ship was in Loch Ryan, near Cairnryan (Dumfries and Galloway Council). The alarm was raised at ~5:30 pm, prompting rescue teams to rush to the location.
Using the ferry's own fast rescue boat, the person was retrieved from the water, airlifted/winched to a coastguard helicopter and flown to Ayr's University Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The ship-charterer Stena Line confirmed the incident and activated standard emergency response procedures, informing the relevant authorities, including HM Coastguard and Police Scotland, and initiating a search and rescue operation.
The Coastguard spokesperson confirmed their assistance and the person's recovery, but no further details regarding the circumstances leading to the incident are currently available.
The ferry resumed its schedule at ~8:30 pm.
Stena Superfast 8 operates the Belfast-Cairnryan route under charter since 2011.