Failure to wear lifejackets was one of five factors which contributed to an incident where a sea angler died off Lacken pier, Co Mayo, last year.
The report by the Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) notes that neither the boat owner nor his companion had donned lifejackets before launching the five-metre GRP boat with outboard engine for a sea angling trip on July 16th, 2023.
Four other factors identified by the MCIB include failure to appropriately plan for the trip, including equipment; lack of familiarity with the boat, its controls and operation, and general knowledge and experience; the need to evaluate the hazards and requirements for mitigation; and cold water immersion.
The incident occurred after 10.20am on July 16th last year, when the boat was launched from a trailer towed by a tractor off Lacken pier.
The report says the casualty (the owner of the boat) was driving the tractor, and the survivor was in the boat which was on the trailer.
“After launching, the survivor made an unsuccessful effort to hold the boat alongside the pier while the casualty parked the launch tractor and trailer,”it says.
“When the tractor and trailer were parked, the casualty attempted to board the drifting boat and entered the water at the East Pier steps. He got into difficulty and was swept out to sea,”it says.
“The boat with the survivor onboard drifted out to sea,”it says.
“ Emergency services were alerted to the incident by a member of the public, and Killala Coast Guard unit and Sligo rescue helicopter R118 were mobilised,”it says.
“The drifting boat came ashore at Lacken Strand with the survivor still onboard. Shortly after, the casualty was recovered from the water by R118 and transferred to Sligo University Hospital where he was pronounced dead,”the report says.
“ The survivor was recovered by R118 from the beach at Lacken Strand and transferred to Sligo University Hospital for treatment, and subsequently released and returned to Germany where he resided,”it says.
It says the casualty was a German national in his seventies who lived locally, and was an experienced boat person who had frequently taken similar voyages in and around the area over many years living there.
Sea angling was his hobby and the report says it is understood that he was able to swim. The survivor was a German national in his seventies visiting the owner, and with little English, who had arrived in Ireland on July 12th, 2023, four days before the incident.
He was unfamiliar with the operation of the boat, the MCIB says, and notes there are no records available indicating whether either the casualty or the survivor had formal boat handling training or sea survival training.
Three lifejackets in good condition were fitted with whistles and were stowed in a forward compartment of the boat, but neither person had worn them at the time of the incident.
Winds were moderate Beaufort force 4 (mean wind speed 10 – 15 knots) from west-northwesterly direction, with occasional gusts of up to 20 knots.
The report says there was no small-craft weather warning on the day of the incident but there was a large swell present.
“The pier offered shelter to the slipway from the prevailing west-northwest swell which allowed the boat to be launched into flat water. As the swell and seas hit the northeast side of the pier ,it followed the pier wall around to the south facing side,”it says.
“ The surge flowed along the pier wall and seawards, making it difficult to hold the boat to the pier wall and may have caused the boat to drift seawards,”it says.
“ The survivor made attempts to throw a line from the boat to the casualty ashore at the East Pier steps, but attempts were unsuccessful, and the boat continued to drift further away from the pier,”it says.
“The casualty did not seek to avail of either of the two available safety rings. As he sought to embark on the boat, he ended up in the water at the East Pier steps and then got into difficulty,”it says.
A number of recommendations include calling on the Minister for Transport to review the effectiveness of the lifejacket enforcement regime and consider ways in which inspections for the mandatory wearing of lifejackets can be increased.
The report also calls on the minister to consider the introduction of basic safety training for operators of marine leisure vessels.
“ Such basic training could cover the safety features set out in Marine Notice No.52 of 2023, including the use of lifejackets, sea survival techniques, voyage planning, use of engines and actions to take in emergency situations,”it says.
The full report is here.
Read also: Marine Casualty Investigation Board Urges Mandatory Safety Training for Recreational Boaters
