A skipper on a Peterhead-based fishing boat caused it to crash after getting “excited” about his quality catch, an investigation has ruled.
The incident happened in October 2022 when trawler Guiding Star crashed into its sister vessel, Guiding Light.
In total, eight people had to be rescued from the sinking boat after the incident in the North Sea, which took place 33 nautical miles to the south-east of Fair Isle.
An investigation by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) – which released its findings today – found the trawler’s skipper had left the wheelhouse unattended during a “routine fish transfer” between the vessels.
The MAIB said he had been “excited to view the quality catch” after several days of intensive fishing and was not there to prevent his boat from colliding, which took place during a heavy swell.
After the collision, water began to enter the boat’s hull, which led to it rising above the cabin floor and emerging into the emergency escape hatch, with it then continuing to flood the main deck.
Coastguard were issued with a mayday call and at that time and two of Guiding Star’s crew went to get survival equipment from its cabins.
One of them ended up trapped because of the floodwater and had to be rescued, before they managed to flee the scene without any safety measures.
After a life-raft was launched, the boat’s skipper told the crew to abandon the ship due to water coming through the emergency escape hatch.
Before boarding the liferaft the crew were able to get lifejackets and immersion suits from Guiding Light, but the raft capsized due to a wave, which resulted in six of the them being thrown into the North Sea.
Thankfully they were able to grab hold of the sister’s ships lifelines before it became fully submerged by water, with three being winched to safety by a coastguard helicopter, before being taken to hospital.
Skipper responsible for collision
The MAIB report said: “The skippers of Guiding Light and Guiding Star were compelled to leave the wheelhouse due to ineffective communications and the absence of a supervisor on deck to oversee fishing operations.”
In the report, several recommendations were made, which includes:
- Crews should be informed of what to do in a flooding emergency.
- Lifejackets and immersion suits be stored in a more suitable location.
- The wheelhouse must not be left unattended.
In conclusion, the report stated: “The vessels collided because Guiding Light’s skipper left the wheelhouse unattended.
“The skipper did not have the cognitive resources to remain focused on watchkeeping at a critical time, which led to a decision that took them away from the navigational controls and unable to intervene to prevent a collision.”
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