Marking one year since boat tragedy

THE fishing industry expects the tragedy of the MV Dianne trawler fatality a year ago will lead to greater safety at sea.

All but one of the seven Cairnsbased crew of the vessel perished in the sinking one year ago near the Town of 1770.

Ruben McDornan, of Cairns, was the only survivor of the crew which set out from Bundaberg to harvest sea cucumbers further north.

Warning system research is being funded by the industry.

THE MV Dianne tragedy could result in greater safety for fishing trawlers with the expected delivery of a research report later this year.

Research into warning systems by fisheries consultant Geoff Diver has been funded by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation after lobbying by families affected by the sinking one year ago today of the MV Dianne near 1770 and the Returner off Karratha WA, in 2015.

“The efforts of the families really drive this,” Mr Diver said.

“It’s a tragedy and they are driven to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Mr Diver has consulted with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, the Australian Fisheries Management Authority and the Bureau of Meteorology.

“All the way through I’m working hand and glove with the families,” Mr Diver said.

His research report, expected to be tabled before 2019, suggests a three-tier safety net including tracking by the Vessel Monitoring System using the Iridium satellite network, the Automatic Identification System monitored by AMSA, and self-deploying Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons.

“It appears that the Dianne went down so quickly that no one could get to an EPIRB,” Mr Diver said. “The VMS software provider will allow the families to monitor the VMS signals from home.”

Limits to current VMS technology mean vessels can drop off the screen for up to six hours, “creating false alarms with search and rescue and panic with the families”.

Under the Iridium network, signal lags would be reduced to minutes.

Peak body Seafood Industry Australia has also campaigned for VMS tracking.

“SIA support vessel tracking as a means of improving safety through rapid deployment of support and search and rescue,” a SIA spokeswoman said.

“We have raised the use of VMS with regulators and government and appreciate this is not straightforward to implement.”

RECOVERED: The MV Dianne Bundaberg Port Marina. is raised at the

WRECKAGE: The remains of the Bundaberg Port Marina. MV Dianne trawler at

Picture: RUBEN McDORNAN COMPANIONS: The MV Dianne crew.

TOUGH LOSS: Ruben McDornan (left), who was the sole survivor of the sunken trawler MV Dianne, points to the sky with second skipper Adam Kelly at the memorial service for the lost crew members in Cairns on October 31 last year.