At a hearing today at Southampton Crown Court the owner and manager of a fishing vessel were fined a total of £180,000 including costs. They had pleaded guilty to charges relating to health and safety offences brought under fishing vessel safety legislation

On 7 January 2008 the UK registered fishing vessel Shark sailed from La Corunna in Spain with a crew of 16, mainly Spanish and Portuguese nationals.  On 19 January 2008 the Shark suffered a severe accommodation fire while at sea approximately 17 miles to the west of Malin Head.  The fire on board the Shark was extensive.  It extended to the galley kitchen, and three cabins used by the crew for sleeping, to alleyways in the accommodation section of the boat and the upper parts of the vessel.  In two of the sleeping cabins the bunks, bedding, furnishings and lockers were totally consumed by fire.  The crew were badly affected by smoke.

A major search and rescue operation, involving UK and Irish Coastguard, helicopters, lifeboats and Irish Navy, took place. Fourteen of the crew were evacuated by lifeboat and helicopter from the vessel. The fire was extinguished by members of the Irish Navy. The Shark eventually made it to Killybegs, Republic of Ireland.

After arrival the vessel was inspected by surveyors from the MCA. Several major defects were noted, many of which were noted to have pre-dated the fire and affected the safe operation of the vessel.  An investigation by the Enforcement Unit of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency was started into the operation of the Shark by its owner, Generic Enterprises Ltd, and managers, Hooktone Ltd.

At an earlier hearing in Magistrates Court, the owner of the Shark, Generic Enterprises Ltd had pleaded guilty to a charge brought under the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Health and Safety at Work) Regulations 1997 for failing to ensure the health and safety of the crew. However owing to the seriousness of the offence, the matter was passed to Crown Court for sentencing.   At today's hearing, they were fined £100,000 plus costs of £35,000.

Following legal argument, the vessel's managers, Hooktone Ltd., changed their plea to guilty for a breach of the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Health and Safety at Work) Regulations 1997 for failing to ensure the health and safety of the crew.  They were fined £20,000 plus costs of £25,000.

His Honour Judge Ralls QC stated that Generic Enterprises Ltd had a high responsibility for the safety of the crew and vessel and that their duty had fallen well below standard.  He also pointed out that Generic Enterprises Ltd had adopted a cavalier attitude to safety. When passing sentence He added that Hooktone Ltd culpability for the offence was at a lower level.

#RESCUE - RTÉ News reports that two fishermen have been rescued from a burning trawler off the Waterford coast this morning.

The two men abandoned ship to a liferaft when a fire started on board the herring boat Kingfisher some 10km off Dunmore East around 7.30am.

They were picked up by a passing fishing vessel shortly after while the Dunmore East RNLI lifeboat and the Irish Coast Guard's helicopter Rescue 117 attended the scene.

As of 11am this morning attempts to put out the fire on the Kingfisher have been unsuccessful.

More from RTE here

#SAFETY ON BOARD - Tackling fires on board a vessel is usually a case of grabbing the trusty fire extinguisher. But what if the fire is in the engine compartment, and you don't realise what's happening till it's too late?

The best weapon against fire is prevention, and to this end Sail Magazine presents a guide for how to install a straight-forward automatic fire suppression system on your boat.

Top of the line systems employ automatic sensors which detect when the temperature rises above a certain level and deploys an inert gas to extinguish the flames.

But the system outlined here in step-by-step format takes a simpler approach, involving a cable release that's controlled by a handle next to the helm that can be used to set off an extinguisher in the engine space at the first sign of trouble.

It means that the door to the engine room can remain shut, keeping that important safety barrier between the fire and the rest of the boat while also starving the flames of the oxygen they need to spread.

Sail Magazine has more on the story HERE.

#BOAT FIRE - The Irish Independent has more on the incident in which a motor cruiser caught fire off West Cork at the weekend, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

Denis Ryan, a car dealer from Inishannon in Co Cork, says he is lucky to be alive after a sudden fire engulfed his power boat off the Seven Heads Peninsula on Saturday afternoon.

Ryan was piloting his boat alone in the waters near Courtmacsherry when the incident occurred, destroying the plastic-hulled vessel in a matter of minutes.

His immediate distress signal was picked up by the Naval Service vessel LE Niamh which was in the area at the time, and Ryan himself was quickly rescued from the water by a passing yachtsman.

#RESCUE - RTÉ News reports that a man has died following a diving accident off the Saltee Islands at the weekend.

The 25-year-old is believed to have rapidly ascended from 25 metres below the surface while on a dive with three others on the morning of Saturday 22 September.

Irish Coast Guard operatives from Waterford and Kilmore Quay were involved in the operation to rescue the man, who was later pronounced dead at Waterford Regional Hospital.

Meanwhile, RTÉ News also reports on the rescue of a man from a burning motor cruiser off the Seven Heads Peninsula in West Cork on Saturday afternoon.

Crew aboard the Naval Service vessel LE Niamh, on patrol in the area, transferred the man from his vessel to Kinsale. The boat later sank after attempts to extinguish the fire.

Two lifeboats proceeded to the Stena Pioneer this afternoon after crew on the ferry issued a mayday call reporting a fire in their engine room whilst they were on passage to Fleetwood on the Irish Sea.  A helicopter was also placed on standby.

Liverpool Coastguard received the mayday at 3.36 pm and made contact with crew on board the vessel, who reported that they still had full power and steering but that there was a fire in the engine room that they were fighting with their on board fire fighting equipment.

Liverpool Coastguard sent lifeboats from Fleetwood and Barrow to the scene. The fire was reported as out at 4.30 pm and the ferry is now docked at Fleetwood.

Liverpool Coastguard Watch Manager Paul Parkes said:

"A fire on a ferry 12 miles out with 46 people on board could potentially turn into a very serious incident, and so we acted quickly to send rescue resources to its aid.  Luckily, the fire was dealt with using on board equipment and so the lifeboats escorted the ferry into Fleetwood where it was met by Lancashire Fire and Rescue service and an MCA surveyor."

A lone sailor had just enough time to send out a Mayday Call last night before abandoning his blazing 28-ft pleasure craft nine miles east of Ballycotton Lighthouse on the Cork coast.

Youghal and Ballycotton lifeboat stations responded to the call and Ballycotton lifeboat station spoke of how they could see the black smoke in the distance as they rushed to the lifeboat station. An angling boat in the vicinity recovered the lone sailor from the sea. He was transferred to another angling boat and was immediately taken to Youghal where his condition was assessed by medical personnel.

Youghal and Ballycotton lifeboats were requested by the Coastguard to remain on scene while the pleasure craft blazed. Approximately an hour later the boat sank and the lifeboats returned to station.

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Marine Warnings

Three men are dead and a fourth has been injured after a boat went on fire and sank off the West Cork coast this evening. It happened in waters south of Roundcarrig Lighthouse off Adrigole Harbour, Bantry Bay. It is understood a serious fire broke out on the 25-foot cruiser. The RNLI lifeboat went to the cruiser's rescue at 5.45pm. There is no information currently about the type of cruiser involved.

Photo: courtesy of Castletownbere lifeboat

A Coast Guard helicopter spotted the men in the water. The boat was on fire and sinking as they arrived.

The bodies of the three victims have been removed to hospital. It is understood all four men, who were in their 60s, were living in the Glengarriff area.

One of the victims is Irish and the other two men are from other European countries. A fourth man, who survived the incident, has also been taken to hospital.

The boat sank a short while later off Roancarrig, about seven miles from the fishing port. Conditions were calm at the time with some light fog in the bay, the spokeswoman said. Officials from the Marine Casualty Investigation Board will carry out an inquiry into the incident.
It is understood investigations will centre on whether an explosion in the engine caused the fire.

Press Release from RNLI: 

Lifeboat crew with Castletownbere RNLI responded to a callout out this evening (Monday 16 August 2010) to a 25-foot cruiser on fire seven miles off the coast of Castletownbere, off Adrigole Harbour in Bantry Bay. The Shannon based Coast Guard helicopter was on scene and recovered four casualties from the water. Three were pronounced dead and one was taken to Cork University hospital for treatment.

The Castletownbere all weather lifeboat was requested to launch at 17.41 hrs in calm conditions. On arrival at the scene the lifeboat volunteers witnessed the vessel on fire and the CG helicopter was recovering the casualties from the water. The Shannon based helicopter had been out on a callout and was in the area. The lifeboat was designated on scene commander and stayed on scene until the burning cruiser sank.