The Aberdeen trawler Ben Doran A178 , foundered on the Ve Skerries 3 miles northwest of Papa Stour , on the evening of 28 March 1930 while on her way to the village of Scalloway to land her catch . When she grounded weather conditions were fairly good but it was not until the following day that a passing trawler saw , and reported the wreck . By the time that various rescue attempts were launched by the coastguard and local volunteers ( it being no lifeboat in Shetland at that time ) , weather conditions had deteriorated to the point where it was impossible to approach the skerries . A request had been made for the Stromness lifeboat from Orkney , only 120 miles away , to launch , but the request was made too late to be of help . All 9 crew perished in the wreck . Only 3 bodies were recovered , that of James Mitchell , which was returned to Aberdeen , and the bodies of J. Cormack and J.R. Insh , which were buried in Scalloway .