The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Dredger has tragic history
IT HAS emerged that a scallop dredger which ran aground in Arbroath at the weekend was owned by the boss of the doomed Solway Harvester and itself has a tragic past.
The Ballantrae-registered St Amant was struck by tragedy after a fisherman drowned after falling overboard in January.
The stricken dredger had to be refloated on Sunday night after running aground while attempting to enter Arbroath harbour in the area known as The Bar.
The drama sparked a string of 999 calls and the RNLI launched its inshore lifeboat and assisted those on board.
The two crew stayed on the vessel until the tide rose and the lifeboat returned to the boat to escort it into Arbroath harbour around midnight.
William Ritchie from arbroath yesterday said the vessel did not suffer any damage and was never in danger of capsizing.
He left the harbour to meet the St Amant skipper and help bring it into the harbour before it got into difficulties around 7.15pm.
“I was taken out on a speedboat to meet the boat and help her into the harbour just in case there were any problems,” he said.
“The skipper got the OK to come in from the harbourmaster, who thought there would be enough water. There wasn’t enough water and we ran aground.
“I think there were 10 999 calls made because it was on its side but we were never in any danger. The RNLI came out and helped us and nobody was hurt and the boat wasn’t damaged.”
The vessel, built in 1975, was owned by Night valley Ltd, run by Richard Gidney.
Mr Gidney rose from being a lowly fisherman to the managing director after buying the company, effectively making him the owner of the Solway Harvester, which he used to skipper.
The Solway Harvester sank in stormy waters off the Isle of Man on January 11 2000 with the loss of seven crew, all from Dumfriesshire.
Mr Gidney went on trial in 2005 accused of manslaughter, but was acquitted when a judge ruled there was no case to answer.
The Harvester’s sister ship The Karianda sank in the North Sea, 17 miles off Stonehaven, seven months after the tragedy.
In January Steven Robertson (25) died after boarding the St Amant, which was heading out into the Irish Sea.
Within hours of leaving the port, Mr Robertson disappeared. It is believed he had fallen into the sea.