The death of a crew member who fractured his neck in a fall on board a fishing vessel has resulted in a call from the Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) for new safety guidelines.
Desmond (Des) Hurley (29) lost his balance while on a ladder in the accommodation deck of a family-owned fishing vessel, the Breizh Arvor II, on December 14th, 2023.
Mr Hurley, his brother Mark and other crew members had been fishing at the Porcupine Bank off the southwest coast when the accident occurred.
A coroner’s inquest last September was told Mark Hurley had asked Des to take over at the wheelhouse at close to midnight on December 13th, 2023. Des, who had been working on the day’s catch, went down a steep stairway into his cabin to change his clothes.
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When he did not return Mark Hurley went looking for him and found him in his cabin lying on the floor. Mark Hurley and another crew member administered CPR but to no avail.
Coroner Frank O’Connell said that unfortunately it was a case “of lightning striking” leading to a “one-in-a-million death”.
This week the MCIB released its report on the incident and called for the Minister for Transport and the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) as well as the boat’s owner to issue new and updated guidelines and safety measures for those working on fishing vessels.
The board said “the accident appears to be the result of the casualty slipping or falling and hitting his head in, or departing from, the accommodation area while following instructions to go to the wheelhouse to take over the watch from the skipper”.
The MCIB noted the fisherman died as he struggled to change clothes, in confined surroundings with restricted head height, in rough seas. He was found to be wearing Crocs shoes which were in good condition, but the heel straps were placed forward and not around the heel as would be intended for security.
There were a number of different levels in the floor and the head height in the room was less than the height of the casualty.
The MCIB made a number of recommendations to the Minister for Transport including that a new marine notice highlighting the importance of wearing secure footwear be circulated.
The board said the notice should also advise owners of the dangers of restricted headroom in vessels; that this hazard be included in the vessel’s risk assessment and that suitable warning signs should be in place at the entrance and exit from spaces with restricted headroom.
The MCIB also recommended boat owners carry out a risk assessment of the accommodation and access arrangements on fishing vessels, “with regard to the height and space restrictions and ensure that all crew members are trained in safe movement on board”.
The board further recommended the HSA review its guidance publication Managing Health and Safety in Fishing. It recommended the authority consider adding additional content to the guidelines “with regard to all aspects of achieving safe movement on fishing vessels, especially those less than 24 metres and with regard to footwear and areas with height and space restrictions”.
