Tag Archives: F/V Returner
Coroner calls for compulsory EPIRBs after Returner tragedy
A Coronor has implored maritime authorities to make it compulsory for all fishing vessels to carry water-activated EPIRB devices, following an inquest into the sinking of the prawn trawler Returner off the WA coast which claimed the lives of skipper Murray Turner and deckhands Chad Fairley and Mason Carter. The findings of last year’s coronial investigation into the tragic sinking in July 2015 were released today, with coroner Sarah Linton concluding that a lack of stability of the trawler, which had undergone extensive modifications prior to setting out, had caused the vessel to capsize and those aboard to drown. >click to read< 09:58
Water police not told of missing trawler for four days, WA inquest hears
An inquest has heard there were critical delays in police being notified about a missing prawn trawler that sank off the Pilbara coast in 2015, resulting in three deaths. A coronial inquest has begun in Perth into how Murray Turner, 57, Chad Fairley, 30, and Mason Carter, 26, died. Mr Turner’s trawler, the Returner, sank about 20 kilometres off the Karratha coast in July 2015. The inquest heard police were only notified about the missing vessel almost five days after it stopped communicating with the Department of Fisheries’ monitoring system, which is primarily used as a surveillance and compliance tool. click here to read the story 08:35
Families hope inquest into Pilbara prawn trawler deaths will lead to industry reform
The families of two fishermen presumed dead after their prawn trawler sunk off the Pilbara coast two years ago say they are apprehensive of a coronial inquest starting on Monday. The Returner sank in mid July 2015 off the Pilbara coast, killing 57-year-old skipper Murray Turner, Chad Fairley, 30, and Mason Carter, 26. An extensive search located the vessel and the body of the skipper, but the two younger crewman were never recovered. Tomorrow, the WA’s Coroner’s Court will begin examining what caused the trawler to sink and the circumstances surrounding the men’s deaths. click here to read the story 11:25
F/V Returner: police divers find missing Pilbara trawler, one body
Police divers have located the missing trawler Returner and one body. The boat was located 20 kilometres north of Karratha Nickol Bay foreshore on Friday. The man’s body was recovered on Saturday and has been flown to Perth for formal identification. The families of the three missing men have been notified. Mason Carter, 26, Chad Fairley, 30, and 57-year-old Murray Turner failed to return to Point Samson near Karratha in their 13-metre prawn trawler on July 15. The men were all from the Geraldton area. Read the rest here 08:09
Search for missing Australian fishermen resumes
The search for three fishermen missing off the Pilbara coast resumed on Saturday morning but hopes are fading that they will be found alive. Mason Carter, 26, Chad Fairley, 30, and 57-year-old Murray Turner failed to return to Point Samson near Karratha in their 13-metre prawn trawler Returner on Wednesday morning. An unused life raft, emergency locator beacon, food supplies and fishing gear washed up along the Burrup Peninsula the next day. Read the rest here 07:38
