Bill Farquhar: At lifeboat helm

Mr Farquhar knew the tanker was alight, but he had not been told that the fumes from the burning cargo could cause suffocation and cancer.

A tug, which had been summoned from Scapa Flow, intercepted the tanker but just as Mr Farquhar and his crew in the Lord Saltoun believed an ecological disaster had been averted, the line between the two boats broke.

In mountainous seas and with the rocks at Dunnet Head less than 400 metres away, the tug decided it could do nothing more.

Mr Farquhar told how he first manoeuvred the Lord Saltoun to a position from which the broken line could be rescued.

Once the line was secured, the Ascania was dragged to safety by the lifeboat.

All 14 Fijian crew members and the tanker's German skipper were winched to safety by an RAF helicopter in a rescue operation co-ordinated by Pentland.

The incident has been cited as a reason against the closure of Pentland Coastguard station in Kirkwall.

The station was one of four around the country listed for closure within the next three years under controversial plans from the Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions.