Whitehaven Coastguard Rescue Team was called out after an emergency beacon was found on the town’s west pier.
The distress beacon wasn’t activated or transmitting a signal, but the team said the person who called it in did the right thing as it needed to be investigated to allow further investigation to ensure people’s safety.
A spokesman said: “Our maritime rescue co-ordinator Centre Belfast Coastguard were able to trace the registered owner, but it was found that the registered owner no longer owned the vessel it belonged to and that the details hadn’t been updated.
“With the vessel’s name now known, a discussion with Whitehaven Marina sealock was able to confirm the vessel’s location in Whitehaven Marina.
“From our perspective, there are two important points of learning that we want to ensure are shared for future public safety.
“If ever you locate such an items (various shapes and sizes) whilst on the coast, please don’t delay, call 999 for the Coastguard immediately. This allows checks to be conducted to ensure the associated vessel and crew are safe and may inform any ongoing searches. Our first informant did just this. However, we believe the EPIRB was sat on the pier for some time, as shown in the photo, where a number of people have likely just walked past this.
“If selling a vessel or distress beacons or if you have purchased a new one, please ensure the current owner’s contact details are updated immediately on the below link. A simple process that may just save lives. This ensures we can contact and confirm everyone’s safety. This will also confirm if it is necessary for a full scale search to be initiated, or if the item just simply needs returned to the owner.”
