Engineer on trawler died after gas asphyxiation
An engineer on a fishing trawler died after he was asphyxiated by gas that leaked into a refrigerated salt water tank where he was working without any safety precautions, an investigation has found.
Three other crew members were also "nearly overcome" when they tried to rescue second William Ironside on the trawler Sunbeam in Fraserburgh on 14 August 2018.
A Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) report found the fatal accident hap - pen ed because Mr Ironside entered the tank, which was an enclosed space, "without any of the safety precautions normally associated with such an activity".
There was no ventilation in the refrigerated salt water tank (RSW), the atmosphere was not monitored and he was working alone without communications.
Investigators found entering into Sunbeam's refrigerated saltwater tanks without appropriate safety pre cautions had been "normalised" by the crew.
On this occasion, however, the atmosphere" could not support life" because Freon gas had leaked into the tank through corroded tubes in the evaporator of the vessel's starboard refrigeration plant, the report found.
Fellow crew members found Mr Ironside collapsed inside the tank at about 1.50pm on the day of the incident.
Another second engineer (2/ E) raised the alarm by shouting loudly and then descended the ladder into the tank, where he found Mr Ironside was unconscious and not breathing.
One of the deck crew also went down the ladder and helped the 2/E with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
Another deckhand star ted climbing down the ladder but then started to feel light-headed and his throat tightened.
He also saw the other 2/ E had collapsed and the deckhand who was in the tank was behaving strangely so climbed out while another crew member dialled 999 to call for help from emergency services.
Sunbeam's two deck mates then donned breathing apparatus, entered the tank and removed both the 2/Es and the deckhand from the tank using a loop of rope and a crane.
Despite the efforts of the crew and paramedics, Mr Ironside could not be resuscitated.
The MAIB report found Sunbeam's crew had historically decanted the Freon out of the refrigeration plants when in harbour but this practice had ceased in January 2018, leaving the Freon in the system and "vulnerable to any loss of containment".
Investigators found the tanks were not managed as enclosed spaces by the crew and the uncontrolled entr y into the tank happened because "the absence of appropriate safe - ty measures had become normalised on board".
The MAIB has made several recommendations, including issuing a safety flyer to the fishing industry and publishing a safety bulletin explaining the initial findings and safety lessons of the investigation.
In resp onse to the MAIB'S safety recommendation, the owners of Sunbeam have completed a risk assessment and introduced a safety procedure for enclosed space working, including atmosphere monitoring equipment.