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In its latest Safety Digest, the UK MAIB provides learnings about an 8.13m fibreglass fishing vessel that was engaged in picking up its fleets of creels when it began to take on water and subsequently sank. The skipper, who was working alone, managed to deploy the boat’s liferaft and climb into it as the boat was sinking and was later rescued without injuries.
The incident
The skipper went out to sea shortly after daybreak to recover his two fleets of creels. The weather was good. As soon as he arrived at the fishing grounds, he hauled in the first fleet of creels and stowed it on the aft end of the deck. He then headed at speed toward the second fleet of creels.
Continue reading “Sinking raises safety issues on bilge alarms”