FV NOVO ALBORADA

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Crew member fell over board and died

On Feb 15, 2023, a 52 year old fisherman from Ghana died after falling over board from the 'Novo Alborada' on the Gran Sol fishing grounds while fishing 165 miles from the Scilly Islands. He was working on the stern of the trawler when he fell into the sea. The body of the sailor has been recovered from the water. The trawler, with the body of the deceased on board, headed towards Vigo with an ETA as of Feb 17.

Report in deadly work accident published

The Commission for the Investigation of Maritime Accidents and Incidents (Ciaim) has just published the report regarding what happened aboard the 'Novo Alborada' on June 24, 2018 in the port of Castletownbere, when a crew member died from a blow. It concludes that during the movement of the trawl doors an "improper maneuver" was carried out that caused what happened. In addition, it points out that the lack of supervision of the officers and bosun contributed to the accident in which a 51-year-old sailor died, who had been working on that ship for about three months, although he had extensive experience on similar ships. In the conclusions, Ciaim indicates that, at around 8:40 a.m., the crew was moving the trawl doors from their stowage position aft to the deck for inspection. During the manoeuvres, one of the sailors was seriously injured when he was hit by one of the mobile elements that formed part of the starboard door stowage system. The man died three days later after being admitted to hospital. "The cause of the accident was the impact on the sailor of some of the mobile elements arranged in the espardel for stowage and fixing the door, when it fell abruptly when trying to move it through an inappropriate maneuver, both due to the use of a lantheon with strong twisting and rubbing on the espardel as by the use of a windlass without the retention capacity of the hoisted door," says the report. In addition, it clarifies that the accident cannot be attributed to failures in the execution of the sailors in charge of unhooking the chains from the doors nor can it be attributed to failures of the sailor in command of the windlass. The door fell suddenly and the elements of its support "made a whip movement" in such a way that they hit the sailor at the chest and arms. The door fell to the bottom of the port, from where it had to be retrieved later. The trawl doors weigh on the order of a ton each. They are stowed at the stern end, on both sides of the ramp outside the hull, and are secured to the ship's structure by means of various chains and ropes. In the safety recommendations, Ciaim calls on the skipper to ensure that the trawl door transfer maneuver "always be carried out following the usual and proven procedures, and specifically, that the deck turnstile or any machinery that does not have the ability to brake or maintain a fixed position, or total control over the traction and positioning of the suspended door, is not used." It is also requested that the prohibition of using the deck windlass or any machinery that does not have braking capacity or maintain total control over traction be included in the occupational risk prevention plan.

Inquest into deadly accident

A verdict of accidental death has been recorded at an inquest into an accident involving a 51-year-old fisherman in Castletownbere aboard the "Novo Alborada" on June 24, 2018. Olounfumi Eugene McCauley, who was originally from Sierra Leone, but was living in Gran Canaria, passed away from injuries he incurred following an accident on the ship. A file was sent to the DPP in relation to the matter but no prosecution was take. The evidence of fisherman Solomon Obery Binery was read into evidence at Cork Coroner’s Court last week. He said a trawler door was being brought onto the vessel for maintenance and inspection, and the plan was to use a wire to lift the door and another wire to pull it up to deck. The door slipped and fell into the water, pulling on the combination rope with speed. As a result, Mr McCauley was hit on the arms and neck by a hook and shackle. Health and safety inspector David Barry told Cork Coroner’s Court that Mr McCauley was one of three men who were carrying out a routine inspection of the starboard trawler doors. A lifting operation was in place to bring a trawler door onto the vessel, but the trawler door fell into the sea, pulling on the combined rope causing it to move at ‘lightning speed’, said Mr Barry, and Mr McCauley was hit in the process. Paramedics rushed to assist the fisherman and he was transferred to Cork University Hospital (CUH) for treatment. He died three days later. Mr Barry said the hook used for lifting shouldn’t have been an open hook. He issued a recommendation that in such procedures a locked hook be used. He said Grip Latch B was also defective. Assistant state pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster carried out a postmortem on the deceased at CUH. She said he incurred crush injuries consistent with being struck in the abdomen by a weight. Coroner Philip Comyn said it was an unfortunate accident that was ‘in some ways’ preventable. He said a grip latch also opened under stress, and he emphasised that there should be a system for checking latches. He also expressed concern that foreign registered vessels often fail to have safety standards that comply with their Irish counterparts. After a few minutes of deliberations a verdict of accidental death was recorded in the case. Mr Comyn thanked the jury for their diligent work and said that he hoped that the recommendations would be acted upon.