The owners of an Argyle and Bute boat company have been fined £10,000 after they admitted that their health and safety failures led to a man’s death.
Clifford Davies, 64, and Janet Lightbown, 57, who are the joint owners of Loch Awe Boats, were each ordered to pay £5,000 over the health and safety breach at Oban Sheriff Court.
The incident saw three men thrown into the water as their hire-boat capsized on the loch during high winds.
One of the men, Kieran Cowan, drowned as he desperately tried to swim back to shore.
A spokesman for Cowan family described his death as “heartbreaking” and “something we’ll never get over”.
Boat hire cancelled – then u-turn
The court heard that on June 29 2019, Kyle Cairney, from Prestonpans, near Edinburgh, made an email enquiry to Loch Awe Boats about a two-day booking in mid-August.
On 1 July 2019, a booking was confirmed for three people under Mr Cairney’s name for August 17 and 18.
However, on Friday August 16 2019, Davies emailed Mr Cairney to cancel his booking for that weekend, stating that their “hire licence prohibits boat hire in winds in excess of 18mph and tomorrow is set to be pretty wild”.
A Facebook post from Loch Awe Boats stated: “Once again, we are having to cancel boat hire tomorrow (Saturday 17th) due to the forecast for very high winds on Loch Awe.
“The upper wind speed for boat hire to comply with our hire licence is 18 mph. Sorry to disappoint, but safety is our priority.”
Despite these communications, Mr Cairney, his brother Nathan and their friend Kieran Cowan, decided to travel to Ardbrecknish on the morning of Saturday August 17.
An agreement was reached with both Davies and Lightbown to hire a boat on the condition that they would go directly to their campsite some forty minutes away while conditions remained calm.
They additionally asked that the men not go back out on the water until the following morning when the weather was forecast to improve.
The court heard that the three men set out from the boatyard and travelled to the island of Inishail where they set up camp.
At around 10.30am, all three went out on the loch again, this time to the south of the Black Isles, where they fished for about an hour and a half. At around noon, they returned to their campsite.
Around 1pm, the three of them again went out on the boat, with only Nathan Cairney wearing a life jacket.
During the journey back from Kilchurn to Inishail the weather continued to worsen, and the water became very choppy.
As they passed Fraoch Eilean, which is in the centre of the largest open area of water in the entire loch, both Cairney brothers described waves coming over the bow of the boat and filling it with water faster than they could bail it out.
The engine was cut so they could all bail but the boat capsized.
‘When we all held onto it the boat started to sink’
Nathan Cairney said: “It had been sinking before we cut the engine, so it didn’t take much for it to flip.
“When it’s flipped, I sort of fell off the boat into the water, I initially went under, but my life jacket has pulled me back up instantly.
“I saw Kieran and Kyle near to me and the three of us went over to the boat which was upside down.
“When we all held onto it the boat started to sink. None of us said anything, we all just started swimming to the nearest island. The water was extremely choppy, and it was still dull.
“As I was swimming towards the island Kieran was on my left-hand side and Kyle was to my right.”
Kyle Cairney described a 10-minute swim to reach land, stating: “I kept going under the water. It was impossible to stay above it, fighting through it.”
Kyle called the emergency services, which sparked a major rescue operation with police, fire service and the coastguard responding.
‘This would not have occurred had they not hired out the boat’
Davies was contacted by HM Coastguard, which had deployed a rescue helicopter to the area.
He then went onto the loch in a fast boat where he located the Cairney brothers and took them to Innis Chonain where they were taken into the care of the emergency services.
On Tuesday August 20, officers from Police Scotland’s Marine Unit found Kieran’s body approximately 46 metres from the shore of Fraoch Eilean. The cause of death was determined to be “immersion in water”.
Debbie Carroll, who leads on health and safety investigations for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said: “Clifford Davies and Janet Lightbown, in the operation of their business, Loch Awe Boats, fell far short of the requirements of the Hire Boat Code on August 17 2019.
“This incident would not have occurred had they not hired out the boat that day, as was their original intention because of the forecast adverse weather.
“Their decision set in motion a chain of events that resulted in the death of a young man.”
An investigation by Argyll and Bute Council found that Davies and Lightbown had exposed their customers to risk by hiring out a boat which failed to comply with the stability and safety requirements of the Hire Boat Code.
A marine expert also found that there were a number of defects with the boat.
The stem was significantly damaged with several holes in the stem and stem foot, where fastenings were missing.
Daylight could be seen through one clear hole, which would have been above the waterline in calm conditions.
Obsolete fastenings in the stem were loosely fitting and would allow water ingress.
‘We’re glad those responsible are held accountable’
Some damage had been repaired with various types of filler, but epoxy resin-based marine filler was not used.
Those holes which were above the waterline would have been submerged when the boat was underway in stormy conditions or when the boat was carrying a heavy load.
The expert’s opinion was that in the stormy conditions, the holes are likely to have allowed more water into the boat.
The investigation also found that Davie and Lightbown hired out the boat in weather conditions which went beyond the limitations set out in their own risk assessment as there was a high risk of drowning.
A family statement released through Digby Brown Solicitors said: “The loss of Kieran has been heart-breaking and it’s something we’ll never get over.
“We’re glad those responsible are held accountable but we just wish to be left alone at this time.”