Almost a year to the day, the report into MAIB’s investigation of the capsize and foundering of the fishing vessel JMT (M99) on 9 July 2015 is now published.
The report contains details of what happened and the subsequent actions taken, read more.
A safety flyer (below) for the fishing industry summarising the accident and detailing the safety lessons learned has also been produced.
Statement from the Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents:
The loss of FV JMT is one of many fatal accidents involving small fishing vessels that have capsized because their crews did not understand the fundamental principles of stability.
However, in common with nearly all fishing vessels <15m any="" been="" boat="" br="" crew="" fv="" given="" had="" have="" how="" indicators="" information="" its="" jmt="" might="" not="" on="" operate="" provided="" safely.="" some="" stability="" that="" the="" to="" with="">The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has confirmed its commitment to introducing stability criteria for new fishing vessels. <15m .="" a="" br="" but="" existing="" fishing="" fleet="" for="" foreseeable="" future.="" have="" impact="" improve="" initiative="" is="" no="" of="" on="" over="" s="" safety="" small="" that="" the="" this="" time="" uk="" ultimately="" vessel="" welcome="" will="">The difficulties of providing existing small fishing vessels with comprehensive stability criteria are understood.
<15m any="" been="" boat="" br="" crew="" fv="" given="" had="" have="" how="" indicators="" information="" its="" jmt="" might="" not="" on="" operate="" provided="" safely.="" some="" stability="" that="" the="" to="" with=""><15m .="" a="" br="" but="" existing="" fishing="" fleet="" for="" foreseeable="" future.="" have="" impact="" improve="" initiative="" is="" no="" of="" on="" over="" s="" safety="" small="" that="" the="" this="" time="" uk="" ultimately="" vessel="" welcome="" will="">
<15m any="" been="" boat="" br="" crew="" fv="" given="" had="" have="" how="" indicators="" information="" its="" jmt="" might="" not="" on="" operate="" provided="" safely.="" some="" stability="" that="" the="" to="" with=""><15m .="" a="" br="" but="" existing="" fishing="" fleet="" for="" foreseeable="" future.="" have="" impact="" improve="" initiative="" is="" no="" of="" on="" over="" s="" safety="" small="" that="" the="" this="" time="" uk="" ultimately="" vessel="" welcome="" will="">However, the Wolfson mark, provides a practical and relatively inexpensive method of giving fishermen some indication about how to operate their vessels within safe limits.
<15m any="" been="" boat="" br="" crew="" fv="" given="" had="" have="" how="" indicators="" information="" its="" jmt="" might="" not="" on="" operate="" provided="" safely.="" some="" stability="" that="" the="" to="" with=""><15m .="" a="" br="" but="" existing="" fishing="" fleet="" for="" foreseeable="" future.="" have="" impact="" improve="" initiative="" is="" no="" of="" on="" over="" s="" safety="" small="" that="" the="" this="" time="" uk="" ultimately="" vessel="" welcome="" will="">
<15m any="" been="" boat="" br="" crew="" fv="" given="" had="" have="" how="" indicators="" information="" its="" jmt="" might="" not="" on="" operate="" provided="" safely.="" some="" stability="" that="" the="" to="" with=""><15m .="" a="" br="" but="" existing="" fishing="" fleet="" for="" foreseeable="" future.="" have="" impact="" improve="" initiative="" is="" no="" of="" on="" over="" s="" safety="" small="" that="" the="" this="" time="" uk="" ultimately="" vessel="" welcome="" will="">
Safety Issues
<15m any="" been="" boat="" br="" crew="" fv="" given="" had="" have="" how="" indicators="" information="" its="" jmt="" might="" not="" on="" operate="" provided="" safely.="" some="" stability="" that="" the="" to="" with=""><15m .="" a="" br="" but="" existing="" fishing="" fleet="" for="" foreseeable="" future.="" have="" impact="" improve="" initiative="" is="" no="" of="" on="" over="" s="" safety="" small="" that="" the="" this="" time="" uk="" ultimately="" vessel="" welcome="" will="">
<15m any="" been="" boat="" br="" crew="" fv="" given="" had="" have="" how="" indicators="" information="" its="" jmt="" might="" not="" on="" operate="" provided="" safely.="" some="" stability="" that="" the="" to="" with=""><15m .="" a="" br="" but="" existing="" fishing="" fleet="" for="" foreseeable="" future.="" have="" impact="" improve="" initiative="" is="" no="" of="" on="" over="" s="" safety="" small="" that="" the="" this="" time="" uk="" ultimately="" vessel="" welcome="" will="">The modifications made to JMT adversely impacted on the vessel’s top weight and centre of gravity which meant that the vessel had only 25% of the stability reserve required of larger fishing vessels Leaving the port dredges suspended from the gantry while the starboard dredges were emptied, the low levels of fuel carried, stowing the catch on deck and leaving doorways and hatches open all further reduced JMT’s stability Skippers of small fishing vessels are not required to complete stability training and may be unaware of their vessel’s limitations The crew’s likelihood of survival was reduced by not wearing lifejackets, the failure of the liferaft to surface, not having a float-free EPIRB and not having the opportunity to make a distress call
<15m any="" been="" boat="" br="" crew="" fv="" given="" had="" have="" how="" indicators="" information="" its="" jmt="" might="" not="" on="" operate="" provided="" safely.="" some="" stability="" that="" the="" to="" with=""><15m .="" a="" br="" but="" existing="" fishing="" fleet="" for="" foreseeable="" future.="" have="" impact="" improve="" initiative="" is="" no="" of="" on="" over="" s="" safety="" small="" that="" the="" this="" time="" uk="" ultimately="" vessel="" welcome="" will="">
<15m any="" been="" boat="" br="" crew="" fv="" given="" had="" have="" how="" indicators="" information="" its="" jmt="" might="" not="" on="" operate="" provided="" safely.="" some="" stability="" that="" the="" to="" with=""><15m .="" a="" br="" but="" existing="" fishing="" fleet="" for="" foreseeable="" future.="" have="" impact="" improve="" initiative="" is="" no="" of="" on="" over="" s="" safety="" small="" that="" the="" this="" time="" uk="" ultimately="" vessel="" welcome="" will="">The MAIB’s report into the loss of the FV JMT therefore contains two key recommendations:
- to require all skippers to attend the Seafish stability awareness course;
- and to fit the Wolfson mark to all existing fishing vessels
Fishing Safety UK published a magazine covering many issues a couple of years ago.