Collision between pair trawlers Devotion and Fruitful Bough resulting Devotion sinking

Location: North Sea.

Completed PE Summary: Devotion/Fruitful Bough

A short summary of the accident and action taken:

Fishing Vessel/Accident Details
Vessel name Devotion
Registered Owner/Manager Caley Fisheries Ltd
Port of Registry Peterhead
Flag UK
Type Fish catching/processing
Built 1978
Construction Wood
Length Overall 22.77m
Gross Tonnage 46.88
Date and Time 24/06/02, 0123
Location of Incident High seas
Incident Type Collision
Injuries/Fatalities None
Damage/Pollution Ship lost
Fishing Vessel/Accident Details
Vessel name Fruitful Bough
Registered Owner/Manager Elegance Fishing Co Ltd
Port of Registry Peterhead
Flag UK
Type Fish Catching/processing
Built 1986
Construction Wood
Length Overall 21.3m
Gross Tonnage 61.85
Date and Time 24/06/02, 0123
Location of Incident High seas
Incident Type Collision
Injuries/ fatalities None
Damage/ Pollution Material damage

Synopsis

Two pair trawlers were on passage to fishing grounds travelling on close parallel courses when one lost steering causing the vessels to collide. The collision resulted in the loss of one of the vessels.

Action taken

To prevent a similar accident occurring in the future the owners of both the vessels were recommended to ensure that:

  • a vigilant lookout is kept at all times while their vessels are at sea

  • their vessels do not make passage unnecessarily close to another vessel

  • the wheel house is not left unattended when their vessels are underway

In addition the owner of one of the vessels was recommended to ensure that:

  • he does not assume that a problem has been fixed and will not recur unless he is certain of its cause

  • he is extra cautious if there exists doubt about the reliability of any of his vessel’s key safety or navigational equipment


Updates to this page

Published 23 January 2015