Changes to sunken trawler not given to marine officials

ALL alterations made onboard fishing vessels should be immediately notified to the marine authorities, according to a report on the sinking of a trawler off the coast of Wexford, which resulted in the death of a crewman.

The Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) has made a number of recommendations following its investigation into the sinking of the Rising Sun, which went down while fishing for crab near the Saltees Islands on November 29, 2005.

On the day in question the vessel had started to list after the crew put crab pots into the water. Crewman, Jimmy Myler called out a warning that she was “going” and he grabbed inflatable personal floatation devices which were hanging in the wheelhouse. He gave them to his fellow crewman Ian Tierney and the skipper, Patrick Colfer.