All fishermen should wear life jackets at all times while working on a deck of a vessel, a fatal accident inquiry into the death of a fisherman off Shetland in 2016 has recommended.
Sheriff Ian Cruickshank said he hoped that the findings of the inquiry launched following the death of Scott Rennie from Newton Stewart after he fell overboard from the King Challenger will assist in the future education and training of fishermen and encourage a cultural change in the wearing of life jackets.
The sheriff also praised the incredible selfless bravery of crew mate Darren Rennie no relation after he took to the water on 23 June 2016 in an attempt to recover his colleague.
Thirty one year old Scott Rennie drowned after he fell from the 21-metre long scallop dredger King Challenger (BA 87) while the vessel was fishing to the southwest of Scalloway.
A Marine Accident Investigation Branch report stated that the vessel’s owner, Kirkudbright based West Coast Sea Products Limited, had prohibited crew on its vessels from climbing onto the tipping doors without the use of a harness and lifeline immediately after the incident.
It also instructed their skippers to conduct man overboard drills on a monthly basis and it purchased specialist equipment and implemented a fleet-wide procedure for recovery of an unconscious casualty from the water.
The company also made the wearing of lifejackets mandatory for its crewmen.
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