Montrose, and Broughty Ferry, Angus, Eyemouth, Berwickshire, and Gourdon,Kincardineshire.—At 4.52 in the after- noon of the 7th of March, 1952, the S.S. Rosso, of Stockholm, bound for Sweden from Methie, wirelessed that she was leaking thirty miles to the south of May Island. At 5.40 the Usan coastguard telephoned the Montrose life-boat station, and at six o'clock the life-boat The Good Hope was launched. A south-east- erly gale was blowing, with a heavy sea. The life-boat made for the position given, thirty miles south-east of Scurdyness and searched widely.

At 5.45 the Carnoustie coastguard telephoned the Broughty Ferry life- boat station and the life-boatmen assembled. At 7.40 the coastguard asked them to search an area thirty- three miles south-east of the Abertay Lightvessel, and at 7.50 the life-boat Mona was launched. The Eyemouth coastguard telephoned the Eyemouth life-boat station at 8.34 that the Rosso was six and a half miles north-east-by- east of Eyemouth, and at nine o'clock the life-boat Clara and Emily Harwell was launched. The life-boats searched all night in very bad weather, but found nothing. At 9.42 the next morning the Gourdon coastguard asked the Gourdon life-boat to look for possible wreckage or boats six miles to the east of Gourdon and to search to the southward, and at 10.20 the Margaret Dawson was launched.

She too found nothing. Aeroplanes joined in the search, but without result, and it was abandoned. The life-boats returned to their stations.

Montrose and Broughty Ferry arrived back at 12.45 that afternoon and Eyemouth at two o'clock. The Gourdon life-boat also returned, but she could not enter the harbour in that heavy weather, and went to Stone- haven, where she arrived at 5.30 that evening. She remained there all night and returned to her station the next morning. The Rosso was assumed to have sunk with the loss of all her crew.

—Rewards, Montrose, £48 13s.; Broughty Ferry, £38 2s. 6d.; Eye- mouth, £43 4s.; Gourdon, £36 4s. 6d..