Moment Brit tourists spot sinking ghost ship off French coast during ferry trip to the UK sparking hunt for missing sailors

Published: 14:50, 18 August 2026 | Updated: 14:59, 18 August 2026 British tourists spotted a sinking ghost ship adrift off the French coast, sparking a rescue mission for a missing sailor. Passengers on a ferry were travelling from Portsmouth to Bilbao, Spain when they noticed the sailboat in distress off the Ile d'Yeu in France. Search operations were launched on Monday and into today to find the missing man who was aboard the boat, who authorities say was of French nationality. After a tourist on the ferry raised an alarm, the ship diverted its journey to send a life boat with three rescuers. But the emergency team found no signs of life on board or around the sailboat. The maritime prefecture said no beacon was activated on board either, which would have sent an emergency signal carrying the exact location coordinates to international rescue satellites.  A helicopter and a maritime surveillance aircraft were deployed to search for 'the potential occupants of a 13-metre sailing yacht adrift in the relatively calm seas', the maritime prefecture said.  The number of people who may have been on board remains unknown.  British tourists spotted a sinking ghost ship adrift off the French coast, sparking a rescue mission for a missing sailor Passengers on a ferry were travelling from Portsmouth and Bilbao, Spain when they noticed the sailboat in distress off the Ile d'Yeu in France The Regional Operational Surveillance and Rescue Centre of Etel was informed Monday evening 'of the presence of a sailboat adrift without anyone on board, about 70 miles southwest of the Penmarc'h point' in Finistère, the maritime prefecture said in a statement.  It comes after the drowned wreck of an empty 'ghost boat' which sunk off the coast of Cornwall was found in 2024. Eerie video footage shows a motor vessel named 'Skomer' alone on the sea bed near Penzance. RNLI crews were called to the abandoned boat off Lamorna at 6.30am on July 11 as it slowly filled with water. But they were unable to stop it sinking and shortly after, local fishermen reported two people in a small dinghy entered a harbour nearby and ran off. That boat was found with its engine still warm in a search of the coastline. It appeared that the vessel had been stripped of some fittings and fixtures and the stern very badly damaged. However, it is clear that the boat has not been sunk long, with metal bars still looking rust-free and the paint on the 19-metre deck still clear. The console in the cockpit also remains pristine.