A fishing company has been fined £50,000 after a crew member fell overboard and died.
Annang Nuertey was working as a deckhand on board the Banff-registered Aquarius when he was knocked overboard by a wire in the early hours of August 17, 2015 near Girdleness Lighthouse in Aberdeen.
The 47-year-old, from Ghana, has never been found.
Yesterday, his employers MB Aquarius Ltd, of Buckie, appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted a string of health and safety failings.
Fiscal depute Richard Brown said the incident could have been avoided if the crew had been properly supervised by skipper Scott Shepherd.
He said the crew had been instructed to prepare the vessel for squid fishing instead of white fish, which requires a separate technique.
Mr Brown told the court: “The trawl wire that had been payed out behind the Aquarius snagged something on the seabed.
“As the vessel continued to move forward this created tension in the wire which eventually caused the rope which had been used to stopper the wire to snap. ”
It then struck Mr Nuertey in the chest and the impact “propelled” him into the sea. The court heard that after five minutes he became submerged and did not re-surface.
An investigation by police and the coastguard found the company had failed to carry out suitable and sufficient risk assessments for the marking of the trawl wire and failed to properly plan and supervise the task.
It also found that they failed to ensure there was a safe system of work in place.
Defence advocate Barney Ross said yesterday: “The company accepts full responsibility for the serious failures to which they have pleaded guilty.
“I say in by way of explanation rather than excuse, the skipper expected the chain would be in use and he was astonished that the crew had done otherwise.
“Since then, a number of significant steps have been taken to increase the safety of the vessel.”
Mr Brown added that in 2019, MB Aquarius recorded their turnover had dropped by a third – with a loss of £288,000.
He urged the sheriff to be lenient with his punishment, adding: “The company is now over half a million in debt.
“They have had a dramatic downturn in fortune since 2018. Expensive maintenance and repair work left the vessel tied up for five months.
“There is only so much debt they will be able to tolerate.”
Sheriff Graeme Napier said he would normally consider a £100,000 fine for such matters, but took into account Mr Brown’s plea.
He said: “Had the Crown got this into court much earlier then the company’s financial position would have been different.
“It would have been £75,000 but in consideration of the guilty plea, I’ll reduce it to £50,000.”
Afterwards Alistair Duncan, the Crown Office’s head of the health and safety investigation unit, said: “The company’s failures led to the death of Annang Neurtey.
“His family and friends must live with the consequences of those failings.
“This sad incident should serve as a reminder to vessel operators and the fishing industry that they should ensure that they are familiar with and adhere to the regulations and that failure to do so can have tragic consequences.”
His family and friends must live with the consequences of those failings.
Following the tragedy, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) found dangerous practices were “considered to be the acceptable norm” by the owners of the Aquarius.
The watchdog published a report into the fatal accident which claimed the life of Annang Nuertey more than a year after it happened.
Investigators concluded it was “entirely foreseeable” that the Ghanaian would be “catapulted” overboard as he was standing “in the danger zone”.
The Banff-registered vessel was detained by authorities after the accident and 23 separate “deficiencies” were found during the exhaustive inspection of the trawler.
MAIB experts concluded Mr Nuerty, 47, was working in “unnecessarily hazardous” and found man overboard drills were not regularly practised.
Yesterday, M B Aquarius Ltd’s defence advocate said the company had invested in safety upgrades in the years since the accident.
The MAIB highlighted a lack of preparation to deal with such an emergency.
Defence advocate Barney Ross said: “The company has worked with The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation and (industry body) Seafish to improve safety.”
Bosses have had a man overboard cradle installed on the Aquarius and have built a shelter deck – which would have stopped Mr Nuertey from being flung over the side.
The firm has since picked up work in the energy sector after “stringent inspection”, the advocate said, and was accepted into a responsible seafishing scheme last year.
Last night, the head of the Crown Office’s health and safety investigation unit welcomed the punishment handed down by Sheriff Graeme Napier.
Alistair Duncan said: “The company’s failures led to the death of Annang Neurtey.
“His family and friends must live with the consequences of those failings.
“This sad incident should serve as a reminder to vessel operators and the fishing industry that they should ensure that they are familiar with and adhere to the regulations and that failure to do so can have tragic consequences.”