Britain’s Maritime Accident Investigation Branch has published it’s preliminary report into the loss of a seafarer was lost overboard after he stepped into the bight of a spliced backrope despite the best efforts of the crew to save him. He was not wearing a lifejacket. His body remains lost.
There is, of course, always an excuse for not wearing a lifejacket, excuses that regularly cosy those in the fishing industry their lives. Of course, there can be no 100 per cent guarantee that this seafarer would have survived had he been wearing a lifejacket but in a life-threatening situation you need all the edge you can get.
Says the MAIB Preliminary report: Noronya was fishing for brown crab and had returned to recover the remaining part of a string of creels, which had been left after the backrope had broken during a previous attempt to haul it on board. Once the remaining part was recovered, it was spliced with the other part of the backrope to repair the string.
The layout of the deck had been considered carefully, with a hopper set into the deck to store the backrope away from the working area and barriers to separate the crew from the backrope as it was shot away. However, the spliced part of the backrope was left hanging over the safety barrier to stop it from becoming tangled as the rest of the backrope paid out.
Shortly after shooting away the marker buoys and weight, a crewman began toggling creels on to the backrope. Three creels were shot, when the crewman’s leg became caught in the bight of the backrope near the spliced repair. Despite the best efforts of the crew, he was dragged over the side. He was not wearing a lifejacket and although there was an extensive search and rescue operation, his body could not be found.
Actions taken:
The Chief Inspector has written to the owner and skipper, recognising their attempts to develop a safer system for shooting creels and congratulated them on their positive efforts. The method used to repair the splice, introduced a new hazard and the Chief Inspector has advised the owner to:
- Reassess the risks associated with repairing the backrope, develop a better method of making repairs and make sure that crew follow this method.
- Provide lifejackets and encourage crew to use them when they are working where there is a risk that they could fall, or be dragged into the water.
- Modify the procedure for marking the position of the creels, so that the skipper can monitor the crew while they are working with the gear.
- Make sure that skippers manage their work so that they and the crew can get adequate rest.
The MAIB Report can be found here
