The key facts

  • The vessel Kilda went missing off the northern tip of Lewis on Tuesday; Douglas Craigie's body was found on Wednesday, while two fishermen remain missing.
  • The search, involving helicopters, aircraft, rescue teams, RNLI boats and a vessel, continues in difficult weather conditions.
  • The Ness community, politicians and participants of the Royal National Mòd in Glasgow expressed condolences; a minute's silence was held at the festival.

Vessel lost and body found

Police Scotland said that, according to available information, the fishermen left Brèabhaig on Lewis at around 07:30 on Tuesday and headed for the Port of Ness area to fish. The vessel Kilda was reported overdue at around 21:20 on Tuesday. Despite storm-force winds, extensive searches were carried out on Wednesday. The body of Douglas Craigie was found near Port of Ness at around 02:45 on Wednesday — a day before his 50th birthday. Still missing are 40-year-old Norman Murray, known as Tam, and his 23-year-old crewmate Murdo Morrison.

Course of the search operation

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said Coastguard helicopters and aircraft, rescue teams, boats and a nearby vessel were involved in the operation. The search, suspended overnight, resumed on Thursday; on Thursday evening the Coastguard scaled back operations pending new information. Western Isles police chief Ross McCartney urged local residents not to put themselves at risk by conducting their own searches and to report information on 101 (reference 3575 of 13 October). He noted that a police presence will remain in the Port of Ness area, and that specialised support is being provided to the families of all three men.

Community and official reaction

Outer Hebrides MP Torcuil Crichton said he had last seen Craigie at the Outer Hebrides Fisheries Association conference in Uist, and that the islands will no longer see the 'sparkle' of his wit. According to Crichton, Murray is a respected resident of Ness and one of the 'men of Ness' who harvest young gannets (guga); Morrison is also a guga hunter, and the MP called him an example of young people continuing a long fishing tradition. Comhairle nan Eilean Siar council convener Kenneth MacLeod described what happened as 'a very dark day' for the communities of Ness and Lewis. First Minister John Swinney expressed his condolences in a post on X to the fishermen's families and the people of the Isle of Lewis.

Remembrance and context

At the Royal National Mòd — the annual festival of Gaelic culture and language held in Glasgow — a minute's silence was announced. Flowers have been laid at the plinth of the Ness fishermen's memorial in Port of Ness. Ness is a sparsely populated district at the northern tip of Lewis with a rugged coastline, where many of its roughly 1,300 residents live in crofting townships; the parish has one of the highest concentrations of Gaelic speakers in the Outer Hebrides.

The men are pictured in a composite image.Image source, Police Scotland
Image caption,

Douglas Craigie, Murdo Morrison and Norman Murray had been fishing off the north coast of Lewis

Two coastguard 4x4 vehicles travel along a road at Port of Ness harbour.
Image caption,

Coastguard teams have been involved in searches off the northern tip of Lewis

Map of Scotland.
The memorial is a tall metal structure with a plinth and three narrow legs holding an upper section with the sculpture of a fishing boat with a sail. The memorial is in a gravel-covered area at the harbour at Port of Ness.
Image caption,

Flowers have been left on the plinth of the Ness Fishery Memorial at Port of Ness

Port of Ness on the north coast of Lewis. There is a small boat sheltering in a harbour. The sky is cloudy.Two people looking out to a very rough sea