West Minch Salmon has been fined £70,000 after a fish farm worker drowned when an overloaded boat was swamped by a wave.
Peter Kenneth Duce, 61, died when the dingy overturned and sunk on Loch na Creige at Soval in South Lewis on 26th February 2008.
Five fish farm staff of West Minch Salmon were in the boat heading back off the fish farm when the weather deteriorated and the wind rose Stornoway Sheriff Court heard today.
But it was only meant to carry three people and it capsized. All five men ended up in the chilly water but Murdo Fraser, Matthew Armstrong, Donald Maclean and Malcolm Macinnes, who wore floatation clothing, managed to swim to shore.
Despite being safety conscious and contrary to his own habits, Mr Duce was the only one not wearing a lifejacket or any floatation device.
The salmon firm then run by Angus Macmillan of South Uist pleaded guilty to a number of failures over workers’ safety which led to the accident.
The company accepted failing to ensure the health, safety and welfare of its workers including failing to assess the risks and provided a boat which was not capable of carrying the five men safely, a lack sufficient information, instruction and training to employees for the safe use of the boat, failing to ensure workers wore appropriate personal protective safety equipment, not properly assessing the risks to staff of travelling over the water to the cages and not proper assessing risks.
The salmon firm was taken over by The Scottish Salmon Company since the accident but the firm’s lawyer Clare Bone told the court Mr Macmillan gave its new owners a warranty that he would pay the fine.
Depute fiscal Jeoff Main said the boat swamped during the 300 metre journey from the fish cages.
He said the craft was loaded “clearly in excess” of its safe limits.
He said the boat had “swamped and sunk below the surface and turned over” due to the overloading, which reduced its freeboard, and the worsening weather.
Mr Main said: “Overloading the boat made it more susceptible to sinking.”
Company lawyer Clare Bone said the firm was unaware that two squads of fish farm workers had a practice of joining forces to clean out dead fish from loch cages.
Only two men were designated to work on the Lewis lochs, a level which the small
boat would have safely handled, she said. But on that day, they were joined by the
three-
She said the firm did have health and safety systems in place but “what was in place simply did not go far enough.
She said the weather unexpectedly deteriorated while they worked on the cages though Sheriff Alasdair Macfayden pointed out that sometimes you could “expect unexpected changes.”
Ms Bone said the firm purchased the smolt farm a few weeks beforehand and purchased the cheapest quoted boat, a Hebrides 400, to use on the loch.
Its operation manual had been filed away after a cursory look, though there was a plate attached on the boat stating its safe limits.
She said three of the men were experienced boat handlers and the craft was “suitable
for its intended use” -
The men were aware buoyancy gear was available and it should be used.
However, there was confusion over what floatation clothing or aids could or should be used, she said.
The firm implemented stricter rules following the accident she said.
A number of Mr Duce relatives from Harris and the mainland were in court.
In a written statement after the hearing the Duce family said: “Pete is greatly missed by his family and friends. His death has left a huge hole in our lives.
“We hope that lessons will be learned to prevent this happening to any other family.“
Salmon farmer fined after worker drowns 9/11/11