Sheryll Murray's husband, Neil dies at sea aboard his trawler, Our Boy Andrew.

Our Boy Andrew, skippered by Looe fisherman Neil Murray.
Photo courtesy of Martin Johns, Plymouth.

Two incidents, 500 miles apart, in the last 24 hours have once again highlighted the need to continue local not central Coastguard services.

Earlier today, the body of MP Sheryll Murray's husband has been brought ashore after his vessel, Our Boy Andrew was reported overdue on Thursday evening. Ironically, yesterday evening, Mrs Murray was speaking in the Commons at the start of the debate when she declared a 'special interest' to the house in that her husband, a commercial fisherman and all those who worked on the sea owed a special debt to the Coastguard Service, the National Coastwatch Institution, RNLI and all those agencies that looked after the safety of seafarers. She cannot have imagined at the time how appropriate those words were to be in the circumstances.

The MCA immdiately launched an investigation into the incident.

Meanwhile, in Cumbria today during the Aquila tragedy (with the loss of three men)enquiry, it has come to light that at the start of the search for the missing vessel  there was some confusion over the exact location of the vessel - this was quickly resolved - but a chilling reminder of just how easily this sort of confusion can turn what might be a problem into a disaster through wasting time and resources - having a centralised co-ordination centre with no local knowledge could have dire consequences when lifeboats and SAR services need to be given accurate information.

Video extracted from MCA safety podcasts - see the whole series here on their YouTube Channel.

Neil Murray appeared in an MCA safety video targeting the wearing of lifesavers by fishermen - in particular those who worked single handed. 

Updated article in the Plymouth Herald with comments from fellow fishermen including Fishing News journalist, Phil Lockley.