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Tragic crab boat burdened with
pots - report
18.08.11
A BOAT that sank with
the loss of two Inishowen fishermen was carrying
crab pots and wet ropes weighing the equivalent of
12 to 14 extra people, a report has found.
Eddie Doherty (65) and his nephew Robert McLaughlin
(41) died tragically when their 26 foot boat
'Jennifer' capsized off Glengad Head near their Ross
Head homes on the Inishowen peninsula on the morning
of November 1, last year.
The older man's body was recovered from the water
shortly after the accident. However, despite
extensive searches, his nephew was not found until
his body washed up on a beach at Malin Head,
twenty-three days later. |
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Fishermen Robert McLaughlin, left,
and his uncle, Eddie Doherty who died off Glengad
Head last year. |
The Marine Casualty
Investigation Board (MCIB) published its report into
the tragedy yesterday. The board said that, whatever
caused the fibre-glass boat to sink, "must have
occurred suddenly and without warning". It blamed
either wind or wave action, or a combination of the
two.
It said that the vessel was in good seaworthy
condition and that both men were highly experienced
fishermen. However, it found that the vessel was
carrying between 50 and 60 pots, each weighing
between 15kgs and 16kgs.
The total estimated weight of pots and wet rope
onboard at the time of the incident, was considered
to be in the region of 915kg and 1,096kg or the
equivalent of between 12 and 14 extra people,
investigators found.
"The carrying of 50-60 pots on a boat the size of
the 'Jennifer' would have a significant adverse
effect on the stability of the boat," said
investigators. |
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The scene at Portaleen Pier, Glengad,
as an exhaustive search continued for 41-year old
Robert McLaughlin. |
Southerly Force 6 and
Force 8 winds were reported, resulting in an
"offshore wind giving a lee for a boat working close
inshore". There were also eddies - a swirling of the
sea running counter to the main water flow -
prevalent in the vicinity of where the boat went
down.
The family of Mr Doherty, a father-of-seven, have
disputed some of the MCIB findings. His widow,
Marian, said the report gave the impression that the
boat was carrying "too many pots".
"With Eddie's experience and his regard for safety,
the load (pots and rope) would have been spread
evenly over the deck of the boat and therefore this
would not have had an adverse affect (sic) on the
stability of the boat," she said in a submission to
the MCIB. The family also disputed the weather
findings, saying conditions that morning were good
but deteriorated shortly after the accident.
The MCIB report found that Mr Doherty was wearing a
flotation suit when his body was recovered from the
sea. Mr McLaughlin was wearing oilskins but no
buoyancy aid.
In its recommendations, the MCIB called on the
Minister for Transport to review the Code of
Practice for Fishing Vessels Under 15m, with a view
to establishing "revised appropriate stability
criteria". It also recommended imposing an
obligation for boats to carry an appropriate
life-raft at all times as well as a float free,
self-activating radio beacon. |
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