The Marine Accident Investigation Branch published a report on 4 June 2015 into a fishing boat fatality which occurred last year three miles off Port Dinallaen, North Wales
The report summarized;
At about 1100 on 30 March 2014, the owner/skipper of the 9.98m scallop dredger Ronan Orla was fatally injured when he became entangled on the starboard warping drum of the vessel’s winch.
The skipper was operating the vessel single-handedly and was attempting to recover his dredge gear on board when the accident happened. About 4 hours later, the crew of another scallop dredger noticed that Ronan Orla appeared to be in trouble.
They came alongside Ronan Orla and a crewman climbed on board and stopped the winch. It was apparent that Ronan Orla’s skipper was deceased.
The key safety issues identified were:
- Ronan Orla’s skipper became entangled on the vessel’s rotating winch drum and was unable to free himself or stop the winch.
- The skipper was operating single-handedly. There was no-one on board to help him or raise the alarm.
- The vessel’s winch had not been properly maintained. It was in a poor state of repair and was not fitted with emergency stops.
Recommendations
The recently published MAIB report into a serious accident that occurred on board the fishing vessel Wanderer II (Report No 6/2015) makes several recommendations that address safety issues identified in this report.
However, recommendations have been made to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (2015/129) and Seafish (2015/130), which seek to ensure that fishing vessel owners are compelled to send copies of the mandatory self-certification assessments to the Regulator, and the increased risks associated with lone working and single-handed operations are emphasised in safety awareness training courses.
