UK MCA to Conduct Surprise Inspections of Fishing Vessels after Fatalities Spike
Surveyors from the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency are to carry out unannounced inspections of fishing vessels across the UK with the aim of increasing safety in the industry after a growing number of fatalities."The inspections are being carried out as part of ongoing work around fishing vessel safety in an industry-recognized to be one of the dangers in the world," the MCA said.According to the Agency, since November 2020, there have been eight deaths – more than ten percent of the total for the previous ten years.
Skipper Fined for Dumping Trash at Sea
A barge skipper has been fined £500 and more than £2,000 in costs, after pleading guilty to dumping trash at sea, the U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) reported. On the morning of May 26 this year, the barge Beta was traveling from Exmouth to Plymouth, where it would be converted into a floating fish restaurant. In charge of the vessel was Mark Tamburrano, a restaurateur from Plymouth. As the vessel passed close to Torquay Bay, witnesses from the Food Standards Agency and local Environment Health department, who were visiting shell beds nearby, saw items being thrown from the barge, including a number of bin bags with plastic in them, along with gas canisters and a chemical toilet. The witnesses approached the barge and the dumping stopped.
Skipper Fined After Grounding on Lizard Peninsula
The skipper of a French fishing vessel has been ordered to pay £11,155 in fines and costs after pleading guilty to endangering his vessel and crew together with failing to keep a proper look-out after falling asleep. On the afternoon of Wednesday 28 August 2013 the fishing vessel Scuderia sailed from Roscoff in northern France towards fishing grounds off the Lizard Peninsula. At about 10:30 p.m. the vessel ran aground at Lankidden Cove between Cadgwith and Coverack. Falmouth Coastguard was contacted at 11 p.m. and an emergency response activated, with the Lizard RNLI lifeboat attending together with the Porthoustock Coastguard Rescue Team. None of the five crew was injured but the forward fuel tank had been ruptured, with the loss of approximately 10 metric tons of diesel.
