Fifteen visitors were rescued from the diving boat UB40 yesterday morning as the stricken vessel, near to sinking from a massive hole in her bow, headed for shallow water with all pumps going.

According to Marine Police, the crew, all employees of Fantasea Diving, reacted to the potentially dangerous situation very well, working to secure the boat and evacuate her passengers safely.

At about 10 a.m. yesterday UB40 put out a distress call after apparently hitting a reef near Western Blue Cut. The Fisheries vessel Defender , Marine Police and the glass bottomed boat Reef Explorer attended.

UB40 's passengers were evacuated to Reef Explorer without incident and UB40 's crew set about keeping the vessel afloat, while Fisheries staff and Marine Police assisted. Despite sustaining a massive hole in the bow, UB40 made it back to Mill Creek Marine under her own power.

Details surrounding the incident are sketchy as UB40 crew declined to speak to The Royal Gazette . However, Marine Police had nothing but praise for the dive boat crew's handling of the situation.

UB40 was holed at the base of her bow, beneath the water line. The hole is a few inches wide and over one foot long.

Following the collision, UB40 crew immediately started pumping water from the leaking vessel, put out a distress call and started heading to shallower water, in case the boat sank before help arrived.

By the time Marine Police got to the scene, UB40 's crew were working on the hole, some from within the boat, while others tried to stop the leak from the outside.

The leak was substantially reduced by towels stuffed into the hole and the use of a sea anchor and tarpaulin, stretched across the outside. Although escorted to shore by Marine Police, the running repairs were good enough for the vessel to return under her own power.