Tag Archives: fell asleep on watch

Asleep at the Wheel: Fatigue Led to Capsize of Fishing Ship and $27,200 Fine

Crew fatigue led to the grounding and loss of commercial fishing vessel Jan and its owner, Wild Fish (NZ) Limited, being fined $27,200 following prosecution by Maritime NZ. Maritime NZ Northern Regional Manager, Neil Rowarth, said the sole helmsman at the time of the grounding, a 17-year-old deckhand, fell asleep soon after going on watch in the early hours of 11 January 2016. The helmsman had worked a full day, slept for between only one hour and three-and-a-quarter hours, and was then woken to take his turn on watch. He had never before been on watch by himself at night. >click to read<19:38