MARINE ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION BRANCHNone of the crew who fled a capsized trawler off the coast of Norway which resulted in the death of a fisherman was wearing life jackets, an investigation has found.
Ronald Mackinnon, from Peterhead, died after being airlifted to hospital when the Njord vessel got into difficulty west of Stavanger.
A probe by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) said none of the eight crew rescued from the boat’s hull was wearing floatation devices during the incident in March 2022.
The report said the sinking was caused by a catch pushing down on a handrail on the vessel’s starboard side, causing it to list and allow water to seep in from an open drain valve.
Five of the crew were rescued by the Olympic Challenger offshore vessel.
Mr Mackinnon and two others were taken to hospital in Bergen by helicopter after ingesting diesel.
The MAIB report attributed his death to drowning.
It said he was “not wearing a personal flotation device” when he entered the water.
SYDNEY SINCLAIRAccording to the report, the 24m (79ft) vessel, which was launched in 1992 and previously known as the Courageous when it operated out of Lerwick in Shetland, had taken on an “unusually large haul of fish” 30 times its normal load on 6 March 2022.
The boat is said to have “listed to the starboard side,” but the crew continued to bring more fish on board.
That caused “downflooding” and eventually led to the vessel capsizing and sinking.
An emergency positioning beacon was automatically activated and a search and rescue helicopter dispatched.
However, the boat’s skipper was unable to make a mayday call with a handheld VHF radio due to a defective battery.
The eight crew members spent about 45 minutes on the upturned hull.
Previous modifications
The MAIB said modifications made to the Njord in 2021 had been to “enhance the vessel’s fishing performance” but were considered to be “minor” by the skipper.
They were expected to have “minimal, if any” impact on its stability.
The report said the reason for installing the drain hole was unknown, but was possibly intended to drain water from periodic cleaning of the space.
The report added that the previous modifications had reduced the weight needed to cause the boat to list at an angle where downflooding would occur.
It also concluded the Njord would not have capsized if the vessel had been operated in line with guidance in its stability book.
It said the Maritime and Coastguard Authority was not “formally informed” of the modifications.
The MAIB said it had issued a safety flyer to the fishing industry to highlight the importance of operating vessels to guidance within stability books.
It made no formal recommendations.
