A Lancashire gas rig sparked an emergency alert off the Isle of Man coast, convincing worried members of the public a boat was on fire.
A coastguard unit was sent out late on Friday after a report of a possible vessel fire 10 miles off Little Ness.
The search was abandoned when inquiries revealed the source was a Morecambe Bay rig flaring off excess gas.
Douglas Coastguard does not want the false alarm to discourage the public from calling in possible incidents.
A spokesman said: "Anyone sighting anything unusual on the coast or at sea should report it to the coastguard so it can be checked out."
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