Person overboard from single-handed creel fishing vessel Saint Peter with loss of 1 life

Location: East of Torness Point, near Dunbar, Scotland

From:
Marine Accident Investigation Branch
Published
16 June 2022
Vessel type:
Fishing vessel
Report type:
Investigation report
Date of occurrence:
2 May 2021

Accident Investigation Report 6/2022

Read our marine accident investigation report, which includes what happened and actions taken:

MAIB investigation report 6-2022: Saint Peter

Photograph of fishing vessel Saint Peter

Summary

On the morning of 2 May 2021, the skipper of single-handed creel fishing vessel Saint Peter was shooting creels east of Torness Point, Scotland. There were no witnesses to the accident but it is likely that one of the skipper’s legs became entangled in a bight of rope while attempting to unsnag a string of creels and was pulled overboard. The skipper was wearing a personal flotation device (PFD), which fully inflated and kept him afloat, but once in the water he was unable to raise an alarm or reboard his vessel.

A concerned relative and a friend of the skipper searched for and found Saint Peter unmanned with a string of creels steaming from its shooting door. They contacted the coastguard, and the ensuing search and rescue operation located Saint Peter’s skipper, who was recovered from the water by helicopter at 17:51; he was unresponsive and a short while later was declared deceased.

Safety issues

  • single-handed fishing is known to be high-risk and fishers are advised to follow industry guidelines to minimise the chance of being pulled overboard

  • emergency measures such as the rigging of a man overboard ladder, and the wearing of personal locator beacons (PLB) improve the chance of reboarding a vessel and sending a distress message

  • following well-prepared risk assessments and realistic safety procedures offers the single-handed fishers protection from the hazards they encounter at sea

Recommendations

Given the existing guidance on the risks of single-handed fishing operations and the MAIB’s safety recommendations made in the Sea Mist report, no further recommendations regarding single-handed fishing are made in this report.

A safety flyer to the fishing industry highlighting a number of the safety lessons was produced for this report.

Other similar MAIB reports include:

Other useful information can be found at:

Published 16 June 2022