Marine board safety recommendations

THE Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) has made two safety recommendations after concluding its report into a fatal trawler accident.

The MCIB found the skipper of the Róise Catriona was the only person on board qualified to use a special medical kit at the time of a sea tragedy last year.

Gerard Harrington had to maintain radio contact with doctors at Cork University Hospital (CUH) and the rescue helicopter, manoeuvre the vessel, and recover fishing gear after his crewman Sean Lynch sustained a severe head injury on board the vessel in the early hours of May 8, 2008.

While all the other crew men had basic first aid training, only Mr Harrington had a “certificate of proficiency in medical first aid aboard ship” which covers the use of the category B medical kit.

The MCIB said under the guidance of doctors at CUH, the crew took “all available steps to treat Mr Lynch, including a prolonged period of CPR”.

It issued two safety recommendations in its final report.

It said the Transport Minister should ensure that a specific EU directive on the minimum health and safety requirements for improved medical treatment on board vessels is fully implemented.

And it also said that marine notices relevant to provision of medical treatment on board fishing vessels should be revised and reissued.

Mr Lynch, 34, a father- of-three children from East End, Castletownbere, Co Cork, was one of six men on board the 22-metre vessel on May 8.

The vessel had just shot its nets about 25 nautical miles south of the Fastnet when tragedy struck.

Mr Lynch suffered fatal head and neck injuries when he was apparently struck in the face by a rope. It may have snagged or jumped off a reel.

There were no witnesses to the accident but he was spotted lying injured on the deck within minutes.

Mr Harrington raised the alarm and the Shannon rescue chopper crew was alerted at 5.55am.

It was reported airborne at 6.40am and it took just under an hour to fly the 202km to rendezvous with the trawler.

Mr Lynch’s crewmates fought the entire time to save him. He was airlifted from the vessel at 8.15am but was pronounced dead at CUH shortly after landing at 8.45am.

Speaking after his inquest last November, which returned an open verdict, Mr Lynch’s widow, Deirdre, pleaded with the Government to review the scramble times for night-time helicopter rescue missions.

The scramble time between 7.30am and 9pm is 15 minutes. It is 45 minutes for night missions.