A trial date has been fixed for an Ayr man accused of causing a fishing boat to run aground near Fraserburgh nearly two years ago.
David Cooper, 38, has yet to appear at Peterhead Sheriff Court but issued a not-guilty plea via his legal defence on Monday.
The charge alleges he was responsible for the BA55 Ocean Maid striking rocks while it was travelling to Fraserburgh on October 24 2022.
The four fishermen, who were on board at the time, had to be rescued following the collision.
Aberdeen Coastguard was called to assist the Ayr-registered vessel, which lay stricken beside Cairnbulg Beacon just before 6am.
The fishermen were taken to a life raft and then picked up by the RNLI’s Fraserburgh lifeboat before being transferred to the hospital.
Cooper, whose address was given as James Brown Avenue in Ayr, denies the charge against him.
He’s accused of leaving the wheelhouse unattended while acting as the vessel’s watchkeeper and failing to take evasive action to prevent it from running aground.
Cooper is being prosecuted under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, and is also accused of failing to “adequately monitor” the boat’s speed, course or position.
It hit the rocks at Cairnbulg Point and was soon abandoned, leaving the vessel to break up in the sea within days.
At the time, concerns were raised about potential pollutants from the trawler contaminating the water.
However, investigations made by Aberdeenshire Council found no evidence of this.
Cooper will go on trial on August 6 later this year after the date was fixed during a hearing at Peterhead Sheriff Court on Monday.
