Marine safety experts warn of dangers of modifying boats after drowning

Marine safety experts have warned of the dangers of carrying out alterations to boats without professional guidance following a report into the drowning of a lobster fisherman off the Co Galway coast last year.

The Marine Casualty Investigation Board has made a safety recommendation that the Minister of Transport, Shane Ross should issue a Marine Notice to remind owners offishing vessels of the dangers of modifying their boats without a proper evaluation of the consequences.

The recommendation is contained in a report into the sinking of the fishing vessel, Beal Sruthan, off Cruagh Island, Co Galway on May 23, 2018.

Its owner, Vincent Leggett (52) of Coolacloy, Clifden, Co Galway on May 23, 2018, drowned after the vessel took on water and sank while on a trip to lay lobster pots.

It was the fisherman’s first time using the vessel.

Although the victim alerted a friend by mobile phone that he was in trouble, emergency services including an Irish Coast Guard helicopter and a RNLI lifeboat from Clifden which arrived on the scene in around 25 minutes discovered his body in the water.

The MCIB noted the victim had bought the vessel second-hand in 2017 and had carried out work on it that winter including an alteration to its transom to allow the replacement of an inboard engine with an outboard motor.

Inspectors said the boat had not been examined under a code of practice for the design, construction and operation of small fishing vessels.

The code requires proposed modifications to a vessel to be agreed in advance with an approved surveyor.

The MCIB report said the cause of the boat’s sinking had not been firmly determined but the most likely cause was the failure to seal off a tube connecting the former engine with the propellor.

One other alternative was the power from the new outboard engine caused the stern of the boat to squat low in the waterline and take on water, the MCIB said,.

It also noted that the vessel did not have the required safety equipment, including a personal flotation device, on board at the time of the accident.