Person overboard from creeler Barnacle III with loss of 1 life
Location: West of Tanera Beg, Scotland.
Accident Investigation Report 1/2015
Investigation report into marine accident including what happened, safety lessons and recommendations made:
Summary
At about 1027 BST on 13 May 2014, crew member Gary Forbes was dragged overboard and under water from the 11.35m creel fishing vessel Barnacle III as the vessel was shooting the second of two fleets of creels west of Tanera Beg, west coast of Scotland. Gary surfaced a short while later, face down, about 50 metres from the vessel. He was not wearing a PFD. Despite being quickly recovered on board by the skipper, who then administered CPR, Gary did not survive.
Recommendations
We have previously made recommendations to the MCA to introduce measures to make compulsory the wearing of PFDs on fishing vessels, and to ensure that The Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Health and Safety at Work) Regulations 1997 apply irrespective of the contractual status of fishermen. These recommendations have been accepted in principle, but have yet to be completed.
The owner/skipper of Barnacle III has been recommended (2015/101) to heed the contents of extant guidance on potting safety, re-assess the risks posed to crew members when working two fleets of creels on deck, and ensure appropriate control measures are implemented to minimise the risk to crew when shooting or recovering creels.
Published: 8 January 2015