GovWire

Today, we have issued a safety bulletin to owners and operators of beam and scallop trawlers to urgently undertake and document a suitable and sufficient risk assessment of the derrick quick-release mechanism chain, and to identify mitigations and immediately implement them to protect crew from a chain failure.

Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents, Andrew Moll OBE, said:

This is the second death that the MAIB is investigating as a result of a chain comprising part of a quick-release system at the derrick head failing under load and allowing fishing gear to fall onto crew working on deck. Today, I am urging the owners and operators of beam and scallop trawlers to take note of the dangers highlighted in this safety bulletin, and to take immediate steps both to inspect their vessels quick-release arrangements and to make any changes necessary to the equipment or its operation to ensure the safety of crew working on deck. The chain-over-pin arrangement has recently resulted in two deaths and there is no room for a do-nothing option.