Capsized boat ‘easy to escape’
FISHERMAN Owen Schubert cannot believe his best mate, FV Dianne skipper Ben Leahy, and the rest of the boat’s crew were unable to escape the capsized vessel.
He operates an identical boat to the Dianne in the Northern Territory and is perplexed that the crew had not been able to swim out of the boat when it capsized.
After an extensive four-day search off central Queensland’s coastline, authorities yesterday found the vessel.
The focus now is on finding the bodies of Mr Leahy, 45, and crew members Adam Hoffman, 30, Eli Tonks, 39, Adam Bidner, 33, Zach Feeney, 28, and Chris Sammut, 34.
Cairns-based fisherman Ruben McDornan, 32, who was rescued at sea after treading water for several hours, appears to be the only survivor.
The six missing fishermen, mostly from Cairns, are believed to have been trapped inside the 17m vessel, which sank off the Town of 1770, in heavy seas on Monday night.
Mr Schubert said he spoke to Mr Leahy via telephone on the morning before the vessel was reported to have overturned and sank.
He said his spearfishing companion, with whom he had been friends for 13 years, was under pressure to collect his quota of sea cucumbers – known within the industry as “slugs” – from Great Barrier Reef waters.
Mr Schubert, who has worked with many of the Di
anne’s crew members, was at sea when he received news of his best friend’s boat sinking.
He is planning on making the heartbreaking journey from Darwin to Cairns in the coming days to attend the men’s funerals, once their bodies are found.
Mr Schubert said no one would probably know what had happened.
“Ben would have gone into the engine room, and when the boat went upside down, he could have been electrocuted,” he said.
“He could have been hit in the head – anything could have happened.
“It’s a pretty dangerous thing being in the engine room when the boat goes upside down.
“The part I don’t understand is how the boys couldn’t get out.
“Something must have been blocking them, stopping them from getting out.”
There has been speculation that the door of the Dianne, which opened inwardly, may not have been able to have been opened while submerged due to water pressure.
However, Mr Schubert, whose own slug boat is identical in design, said it would not have made much difference to the highly experienced crew, when they would have tried to escape.
“The boys would have been able to swim out. The wheelhouse is small,” he said.
“Upside down, in the dark – I know I could have done it, if there was nothing blocking the way: swim out to the door, open the door and swim to the surface from the bottom.
“They should have all been able to do a free ascent from the bottom, out the door.
“So something’s blocked them. Something’s gone really, really wrong.”