FV JOANNA C

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L aura D Fishing Ltd. has been fined more than £100,000

The Laura D Fishing Ltd. company has been fined more than £100,000 after the 'Joanna C' capsized, causing the deaths of two people onboard. The Torquay-based company and the owner of the vessel, pleaded guilty to failing to take all reasonable steps to ensure the ‘Joanna C’ was operated in a safe manner. The vessel, built in 1980, had previously operated as both a beam and stern trawler before it was rigged as a scallop dredger. The ship had undergone a major refit in 2019, including the addition of a whaleback, extension of the wheelhouse and fitting raised bulwarks, all of which affected the stability of the vessel. The modifications had been carried out without the approval of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). Despite this, the vessel continued commercial operations. Early in the morning on Nove 21, 2020, Robert Morley, Adam Harper and David Bickerstaff were onboard the 'Joanna C' five miles south of Shoreham, when the vessel’s gear snagged on the seabed, causing it to lean heavily to starboard. Because it was unstable, the ship could not recover and rapidly sank. Only Mr. Bickerstaff survived. A team of divers sent to inspect the wreck days later also found that the life-raft had not deployed. The MCA reminded owners that their vessels must meet the required safety standards despite changes made, to avoid incidents like this happening. The court has found that the Laura D Fishing Ltd. did not take all reasonable steps to operate the Joanna C in a safe manner and this led to the deaths of Adam and Robert.

Inquest: failing life raft had adverse effect on survival chance

Two fisherman died accidentally when the 'Joanna C' capsized and the life raft failed to inflate in November 2020, an inquest at Hastings Coroner's Court has concluded. Skipper Dave Bickerstaff was the only surviving crew member. The body of 26-year-old Adam Harper was found by divers in the wreckage of the trawler off the coast of Newhaven. Robert Morley's body was recovered on a beach in Bexhill on Dec 14, 2020. The scalloper capsized after getting snagged on whelk pots, the inquest heard. Marine Accident Investigations Branch inspector Joanna Dorman told the jury: "We don't know what would have happened had the life raft inflated. But we do know that it had an adverse effect on the chance of surviving." The vessel had been modified since its last stability analysis in 1997, and the stability was below the level it should have been. The vessel at the time of the accident was described as being vulnerable to capsizing. When tit turned over, Mr Morley was thrown into the water, while Mr Harper was unable to escape the cabin. A post-mortem concluded the cause of death for Harper, who was from Devon, was drowning. A definitive cause of death for 38-year-old Morley, from Pembrokeshire, was not identified. The jury at the inquest concluded that both deaths were accidents.

Report into loss of fishing vessel published

On June 22, 2022, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch published the fatal accident investigation report after the 'Joanna C (BM265)' snagged its gear on a line of whelk pots and capsized rapidly on Nov 21, 2020. Only one of the three crew survived. The report contains details of what happened, subsequent actions taken and recommendations. The report found out that the ship capsized because it had insufficient reserves of stability to recover from the heel created when the fishing gear became snagged. This happened because of modifications to the vessel that had severely eroded its stability characteristics, and this went undetected. When the ship sank, the ‘float-free’ liferaft arrangements did not work as expected. Although the liferaft was released from its cradle as the vessel sank, it did not come to the surface and inflate. This significantly impacted the chances of survival for the two crew in the water, only one of whom survived. The MAIB’s investigation found that the uninflated liferaft had insufficient buoyancy to trigger the gas inflation system, leaving it suspended mid-water still attached to the sunken vessel Furthermore, the liferaft had not been manufactured to meet any specific standard, although this was acceptable for a small fishing vessel at the time. Prior to publication of the report, an immediate MAIB recommendation was made to amend the International Standard Organisation’s standard for non-SOLAS liferafts (known as ISO-9650) to ensure they have sufficient buoyancy in the uninflated state to activate the inflation mechanism, where ‘float-free’ arrangements are in place. The safety message is that it is vital to ensure that lifesaving appliances will work as expected. Where ‘float-free’ arrangements are in place, the liferaft must have sufficient buoyancy to trigger the inflation mechanism once it has been released from the cradle as the vessel sinks. Full report with photos: https://www.gov.uk/maib-reports/capsize-and-sinking-of-scallop-dredger-joanna-c-with-loss-of-2-lives