UK MAIB reports of an incident where a fishing vessel’s engine stalled, making the vessel set towards the shore.
The incident
Just before dawn and 2 hours before low water, a small fishing vessel sailed from its home port for a day’s creel fishing.
Just after the vessel passed the end of the breakwater a screeching noise was heard coming from the engine room, and almost immediately the engine stopped. The skipper reacted quickly and instructed his deckhand to
let the anchor go while he restarted the engine. The engine started, but as soon as the skipper engaged ahead gear it stalled again.
The deckhand had set the anchor, but it found no purchase on the rocky seabed; the fishing vessel began to be set towards the shore.
Realising they were in danger, the skipper phoned the coastguard, and lifeboats were despatched. The fishing vessel’s crew were unable to prevent the vessel from washing onto the rocky shore, where it became stranded in the falling tide. A lifeboat arrived rapidly and was able to recover the two crew safely to shore, but in the heavy swell the fishing vessel pounded on the rocks, resulting in the engine room quickly becoming holed and the vessel taking on water.
At low water, the skipper and the lifeboat crews attempted to patch the hole in the hull, but by that time the damage was too great and the attempt to recover the vessel had to be abandoned as the tide rose again. The vessel was totally engulfed, and with an onshore swell still running it broke up on the rocks, with its fuel causing some minor pollution.
The fishing vessel’s propeller was almost certainly fouled by a line from an unmarked creel feet that had been laid close to the harbour entrance. The propeller wound this in tightly, jamming the shaft and stopping the engine. With no way of quickly clearing the fouled propeller, and poor holding ground for an anchor, there was little more the skipper could do.
Lessons learned
- Floating ropes from static fishing gear are a major hazard to all small craft, and it is vital that they are not laid in or close to channels or fairways. Wherever possible use non-buoyant ropes, and clearly mark strings of creels or feets of nets. Also, ensure that gear on deck is properly secured and that there is no chance of it falling overboard and becoming a hazard to you or your fellow mariners.
- In this case, although his vessel could not be saved, the creel boat skipper and his crew member were well equipped and well prepared; this resulted in a successful rescue. He quickly realised he was in trouble and made the right decision to call for help early. The importance of asking for help as soon as you get into difculty cannot be emphasised enough. The longer you leave it, the less likely help will arrive in time to ensure a successful rescue.