A young man died as a result of what has been termed “an unfortunate slip or fall” on board a fishing trawler 100 nautical miles off the Blasket Islands in December 2023, an investigation by the Marine Casualty Investigation Board has concluded.
The report, published this Wednesday, relates to the 1991 built Breizh Arvor II vessel that was fishing for prawns off the west coast. Three days into the planned 10-13-day trip one of the crew suffered a fall in the accommodation quarters at a time when the weather was Beaufort Force 5 and the vessel was trawling and rolling moderately.
The casualty was found unresponsive, lying on the deck in the sleeping area and efforts to revive him were unsuccessful. The vessel returned to the home fishing port of Castletownbere, Co Cork and the casualty was landed ashore.
The fisherman was changing his clothing to take over from the skipper at the wheelhouse at around midnight when the incident occurred. The coast guard and medical assistance personnel were alerted but when checks were carried out, the skipper was advised that the casualty had passed away.
The official report into the incident concluded that it cannot be determined exactly what happened in the absence of any witnesses and given the lack of adequate corroborative evidence.
The Marine Casualty Investigation Board said the accommodation space is quite small and confined and has two steps, changing the internal floor levels and height. The casualty, who was considered fit and healthy, was wearing a pair of slip-on Crocs at the time of the fall and the securing straps were found by An Garda Siochána to be in the forward position and did not appear to have been secured around the heels.
The investigation suggested that the casualty may have missed one or two steps down from his berth in the accommodation area or slipped as he stepped on to the ladder, thereby hitting his head and causing the fall.
The post mortem report reported that the cause of death was consistent with a heavy fall and the bruising indicated that he fell or hit his head. It could not be determined absolutely why he fell or slipped or whether he hit his head before or during the fall.
There was circumstantial evidence to suggest that the casualty may have missed one of the steps or slipped and fell forward, hitting his head on one of the hard surfaces in the small space.
The Marine Casualty Investigation Board recommended that the Minister for Transport should circulate a marine notice highlighting the importance of wearing secure footwear on board fishing vessels at all times and advise owners regarding the dangers of restricted headroom in vessels.
The minister should also ask the owners to include this hazard in their risk assessment and to have suitable signage at the entrance and exit to such spaces with restricted headroom.
The owner of the Breizh Arvor II has been urged to carry out a risk assessment of the accommodation area and access arrangements with regard to height and space restrictions as well as ensuring that all crew members are trained in relation to safe movement on board.
The Health and Safety Authority has been asked to review the content of their health and safety guidelines publications and to consider additional content with regard to safe movement on vessels and with regard to footwear and areas with height and space restrictions.
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