Skipper dismisses warning signs of submarine cables to fish in the area

In its latest Safety Digest, UK MAIB focuses on a fishing vessel that dismissed the warning signs of submarine cables and fished in that area. This resulted to the vessel being tangled with the cables and then resulting to damage to UK infrastructure.

The Incident

A 24-metre dredger was trawling on fishing grounds off the east coast of England. In the first place, the vessel was based in the south-west, yet it relocated to fish in an area which was more productive. After some successful trawls, three of the dredges became entangled in a submarine cable.

In the beginning the skipper wasn’t able to free the vessel from the cable; Consequently, he requested assistance from the Coast Guard. Following, the Coast Guard arrived at the scene and stood by the fishing vessel to provide safety cover while the skipper continued his efforts to free the vessel.

Meanwhile, the Coast Guard discussed the matter with the cable owner/operator, who then confirmed that it was a communications cable. Their advice was to slip the dredging gear to avoid risk to the crew and any additional damage to the cable. However, the skipper

The skipper, though, chose to continue his attempts to free his gear. He waited for a low tide and tried to get the cable alongside to free it. However, his attempts resulted to the cable breaking away, with the loss of three scallop dredges, and the cable fell back to the seabed.

Later on, the vessel returned back to its home port, with no damages reported, except the loss of the three dredgers. Damage to the cable resulted in a loss of communications and considerable costs to identify and repair damage. The cable was one of a number recorded on nautical charts covering the area. It had been laid a number of years earlier following consultation with the local fishing federations and financial compensation to the affected fishing communities.

Lessons Learned

1. The submarine cables were marked on the chart, which carried a warning not to anchor or trawl in the vicinity of the cables. However, although aware of the cables, the skipper assumed that they would be buried such that he could continue to fish despite the warnings. His actions resulted in damage to UK infrastructure and the loss of fishing equipment. All fishermen must be aware of the hazards relating to their operations, heed notices and warnings, and take appropriate action to avoid risk.
2. If the dredges had become entangled in a submarine power cable, disregarding advice from the cable operator could have put the lives of the crew attempting to free the gear in extreme danger.