Fishing boat skippers and merchant seamen have been accused of failing to back a powerful government agency’s drive to improve safety standards in UK waters.
The chief inspector of the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) claimed yesterday he had been “naive” to think they would support its inquiries into sinkings, grounding and fatalities.
Stephen Meyer made the comments in the MAIB’s annual report, which also revealed the number of fisherman lost at sea last year was nearly double the 2008 total.
In 2009, 13 fishermen were lost overboard in British waters, compared with seven in 2008. Since 1997, only one other year has recorded a higher number of deaths on fishing vessels – 14 fishermen were lost at sea in 2006.
Mr Meyer will be leaving the MAIB – which is part of the Department for Transport – next month after serving as its chief inspector for more than eight years.
He said in his introduction to the annual report: “When I joined, I was naive enough to think that everyone would be on the side of independent investigation, the sole purpose of which was future safety.
“In fact, few are on our side, as everyone involved in an accident has some form of vested interest and others often have a particular axe to grind.”
Mr Meyer said the MAIB had also faced threats to its independent status during his time in charge.
“I have had to fight to maintain the independence and integrity of the MAIB, and our right to operate free from the growing culture of blame and litigation,” he said.
“That we have continued to operate so successfully in the face of such challenges has reinforced our credibility and is, I believe, an important outcome for safety at sea.”
Mr Meyer also said the high rate of deaths on fishing boats had led the MAIB to call on the DfT to “take urgent action to develop a comprehensive, timely and properly resourced plan to reduce that rate to a level commensurate with other UK occupations”.
The chief inspector said the 13 deaths in the industry last year meant the fatality rate in fishing was more than 100 times the national accident at work rate, despite the number of accidents on fishing vessels in UK waters steadily decreasing for the past five years.
In 2005, the MAIB investigated 368 incidents on fishing boats, compared with 238 last year.
Mr Meyer said: “It is quite evident from the accidents we investigate that safety standards, supervision, training, inspection and enforcement are routinely well below that expected ashore.
“Although improvements are taking place, these are normally driven by accident investigations conducted by the MAIB and similar organisations in other countries.”
Last night, Mike Park, executive chairman of the Scottish White Fish Producers Association, said Mr Meyer’s account of the marine industry’s attitude to accident investigations was “alien” to him.
“That is certainly not my understanding or my experience of the industry,” he said.
“Fishermen are very curious to find out why particular accidents happen to prevent them happening in the future.
“It is extremely important that, if there are fatalities or incidents, we get to the bottom of them and why they happened as soon as possible.
“Mr Meyer’s comments do not match up with anything I have ever witnessed.”
John Buchan, owner and skipper of the Peterhead-registered trawler Fairline, described Mr Meyer’s comments as “misguided”.
He said: “In the north-east, fishing boats are owned by their skippers, so the safety of the vessel and the crew is paramount.
“If Mr Meyer thinks we take safety at sea lightly, he is completely wrong. What he is right about is that we do have a vested interest, but it is a vested interest in our vessels and our safety. Any skipper who is going to sea is not going to compromise on that.
“If anyone has been obstructive, it is possibly because they think they know more about safety at sea than the MAIB.
“From my personal experience, any lessons that can be learned from previous accidents are taken on board and closely adhered to.”
Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, said skippers were “the keenest supporters” of independent investigations, but added that the MAIB should expect obstacles when carrying out its investigations.
He said: “Independent investigations which look solely at lessons that can be learned are something the fishing industry takes very seriously.
“However, I am little surprised Mr Meyer would find constraints upon investigations exist. Of course they do – in the real world, that is what happens.”