Fishing boat skipper is jailed over fatal tragedy

THE skipper of a fishing boat involved in a fatal tragedy at sea in 2016 was prescribed jail under health and safety legislation when he appeared at the District Court.

The court heard that accused Wayne Walker from 19 The Sidings, Ramsgate Village went into the water in a bid to rescue doomed crew man Leonard Hughes.

He did this despite the fact that he could not swim and the unsuccessful rescue effort nearly cost him his own life.

However, Judge Brian O’Shea imposed the prison sentence after deciding that Walker set a bad example when he did not wear a life jacket while fishing for whelks on the day of the tragedy.

And it was also to his discredit that no emergency drills had been practised.

The job of trying to piece together what happened on the ‘Kerri Heather’ on November 16, 2016 fell to Health and Safety Authority inspector Martina Kearney Flynn.

She told the court how the accident occurred as the timber built half-deck vessel was fishing for whelks that day.

The skipper was in the wheelhouse, while 49-year-old Hughes and a second crew member were hauling in pots.

They had pulled up an anchor attached to the line of pots when a swell rocked the vessel and Hughes lost his balance, falling overboard.

Like his two colleagues, he was not wearing his life jacket, though ‘personal flotation devices’ were available on board.

The inspector said that jackets should have been worn during such activity but she had been told by fishermen that they were ‘inconvenient’.

She added that there is a legal obligation to wear one while at work on an open deck at sea and that the skipper is supposed to instruct his crew in this regard.

A line was thrown to the man overboard, who was at sea that day as a replacement for his stepson, who wanted a day off.

However, Hughes offered no response to the line or to the jacket which was also thrown to him.

Wayne Walker’s response was to strip off his boots, don a life jacket and jump into the water though unable to swim.

He reached the stricken man but lost his grip on Hughes’ oilskin as his own life jacket was coming loose.

The skipper had difficulty regaining the safety of the ‘Kerri Heather’, a process which took around 20 minutes, leaving him with signs of hypothermia

The Coast Guard arrived within 25 minutes of being alerted and they began searching for the casualty.

The search continued for several days but he was not seen again until the body was washed up on the coast of Wales two months afterwards.

Ms Kearney Flynn observed that there should have been a man overboard procedure in place. She felt that it would have been best to manoeuvre the boat around and pull Hughes in without any need to follow him into the sea.

It appeared that he was unconscious in the water, though it was not clear whether he had hit his head off the hauler, the boat or the anchor.

Among those present for the hearing of the case were the dead man’s wife Brigid and his sister Josie.

They told the judge that the deceased left behind a daughter who is now seven years of age.

Josie Hughes read out a victim impact statement which concluded: ‘all we ask is that lessons will be learned and procedure will be followed.’

The court learned that the boat owner was a man called John O’Connor who appointed Walker as skipper three or four months before the tragedy.

The takings were divided on the basis of shares 3.5 shares to O’Connor, 1.5 shares to Walker and one each to Leonard Hughes and a Polish man.

Defending barrister Dylan Redmond reckoned that, on a good day, Walker might earn €150.

Now 30 years of age, he had been fishing since the age of 13, counsel added.

Since the events of November, 2016 he had found it difficult to resume his career as he suffered flashbacks and symptoms of post-traumatic stress.

It was accepted that Walker had responsibility for those on board and guilty pleas were entered.

However, the court was told that on the day of the drowning, he was not aware of his legal requirements to put procedures in place and to train his crew.

Judge Brian O’Shea was concerned that fishermen continue to take to sea without putting on their flotation devices, despite the many accidents that have occurred.

He noted that the lack of a plan dramatically reduced the chances of a successful rescue in this instance.

He ruled that the gravity of what happened needed to be marked, imposing a six month jail term on the defendant.

He suspended the final two months of this sentence.

Cash bail of €200 was produced before the conclusion of the court sitting and Walker was released on bail pending an appeal of the verdict.