Report: "Tit Bonhomme" crew had 4-5 hours sleep in 40 hours

The report into the sinking of the "Tit Bonhomme" near Glandore Harbour in West Cork has said that the biggest factor in its sinking was "insufficient rest for the crew".

The fishing vessel left Union Hall in Co. Cork on Friday, January 13 last year with its crew of six.

The vessel experienced some technical difficulties during the fishing trip and the skipper decided to return to port.

On its return to the port of Union Hall in the early morning of January 15, the vessel stranded on Adam's Island at the entrance to Glandore Harbour and broke up with the loss of five of its crew.

The report into the incident released today by the Marine Casualty Investigation Board said: "Notwithstanding many other safety related factors highlighted by this casualty, the single overriding causal factor is considered to be insufficient rest for the crew and that the regulations on hours of work and rest appear not to have been complied with.

"In the 40 hours between departing Union Hall and the grounding, all crew appear to have had at most four to five hours sleep.

"This resulted in fatigue and inadequate watch-keeping arrangements on board the vessel and it steamed into and stranded on Adam’s Island during the hours of darkness in poor weather conditions and this resulted in five of the six persons on board losing their lives."

The report went on to say that the alarm was raised using the personal mobile phone of a visitor on-board Kevin Kershaw, while there were dedicated hand-held VHF radios in the wheelhouse specifically for that purpose "which crew members were unable to bring into service".

The report said: "The crew appeared not to have been familiar with the operation of the radio equipment as no radio message was sent. Apart from the main radio installation, which appears to have stopped working, the vessel was fitted with a SART, an EPIRB and hand-held emergency VHF radios. Any of these could have been used to send a radio signal and aid rescue."

It has also been revealed that at least two of the crew had not undertaken the required mandatory basic safety training.

The MCBI report said: "The legally required safety musters and drills were not carried out at the required regular intervals. This resulted in the crew not being familiar with the purpose and means of operation of items of safety and communications equipment for use in emergencies. Such drills should also be carried out when new crew members join the vessel."

According to the MCBI, the "Tit Bonhomme" was carrying more crew than it was certified to carry when it had Kevin Kershaw on board as a visitor.

The report said: "It was certified to carry a crew of five and the vessel did not have sufficient lifesaving appliances for all of those on-board during this trip.

"This casualty highlights the importance of alerting the Irish Coast Guard as soon as possible when an event occurs which could endanger the vessel. In this case the IRCG should have been advised that the vessel was experiencing lube oil problems and was returning to port."