Tag Archives: Scotland
MAIB: Open Drain Caused Deadly Capsizing in North Sea
MAIB has published its final accident investigation report into the capsizing and foundering of stern trawler Njord, which went down about 50 nautical miles north-east of Peterhead, Scotland in 2022. MAIB found that post-construction modifications had reduced the vessel’s initial stability, and that a large haul of fish was enough to capsize the vessel. Njord was a 1992-built trawler with a setup not commonly found in high-seas fisheries. Her net reels were at the stern, but recovery of the catch occurred on the starboard bow. The cod end had to be hauled up over the starboard rail using a winch and lifting frame, and then the fish were fed into a hatch in the foredeck for processing. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:08
Deckhand killed in fishing boat disaster was not wearing lifejacket
A Scots deckhand who drowned and seven other crew who were rescued after a fishing boat capsized off the coast of Norway were not wearing lifejackets an investigation has found. Ronald Mackinnon, 56, from Peterhead, lost his life when the UK-registered Njord trawler got into difficulty west of Stavanger in March 2022. A probe by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has now found that none of the eight crew ‘were able to don personal flotation devices or lifejackets’ after the boat suffered a ‘substantial list’ and started taking on water. The report states that the crew had been taking on an ‘unusually large haul of fish’ when the tragedy happened. Photos, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:22
Safety flyer to the fishing industry – The capsize and foundering of the fishing vessel Njord (SH 90)
On 6 March 2022, the 26.56m stern trawler Njord (SH 90) capsized and foundered 150 miles north-east of Peterhead, Scotland while processing a very large haul of fish. The MAIB investigation found that the weight of catch, which was secured to the starboard trawl winch and acting on a handrail high up on the vessel’s starboard side, caused it to list to starboard to an angle where downflooding occurred. A drain valve had been left open in the starboard weathertight bulkhead on the vessel’s working deck, which allowed downflooding into Njord’s internal spaces. The starboard list subsequently increased further, resulting in the capsize of the vessel. Njord’s eight crew abandoned to the vessel’s upturned hull, but none were wearing either a personal flotation device, an immersion suit or carrying a means to raise an alert. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:19
Teenage girl who won fisherman of the year hopes to inspire young women to work at sea
A teenage girl who won trainee fisherman of the year hopes to inspire more young women to work in the Scottish fishing industry. Isla Gale quit school at 15 to work as an apprentice on a scallop fishing boat. Now 19, she has completed deck officer qualifications in the hopes of following her dreams to work on larger fishing vessels at sea. The plucky teen is currently based in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire while studying at the Scottish Marine Academy (SMA). She hopes to see more women making waves in a male-dominated industry. She said: “I know that there are many supposed barriers and superstitions about women working at sea, but if you are determined and hardworking enough to overcome that side of things, you’ll do really well. more, >>CLICK TO READ<<12:50
Scottish fishermen netting benefits of leaving CFP, says north MSP
Fishermen continue to net the benefits of being out of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) after seeing sales incomes rise by 10 per cent over the last year, an MSP has claimed. New figures obtained by the Scottish Conservatives in a written parliamentary answer show fleets made an average monthly income of £14,329 over the last recorded year, a rise of £1300 when earnings were £13,020 in 2022.The rise in income and sales contrasts with the number of fishers at sea, which has dropped from 4241 to 3793 over the last three years. It comes after Peterhead Port Authority (PPA) recorded its highest ever annual fish landings total last year. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:27
50 years plus boat history: Islander BA 316
Launched by Alexander Noble and Sons of Girvan as yard number 58, Islesman SY 433 was built as a trawler with a Kelvin T6 180hp for Alexander McLean of Ness on the Isle of Lewis. She was financed through the Highlands and Islands Development Board (HIDB) grant scheme and was also used for training up crews for other new builds at the time. There had been another Islesman in Stornoway, registered SY 248, which had been built by Jones of Buckie as MFV 
324 in 1945. This was converted for fishing in 1949 as Craigewan PD 416, and subsequently sold to Stornoway in 1961, when she was renamed Islesman. This was the first HIDB training boat in Lewis, skippered, I believe, by Jimmy Chisholm. That vessel was sold to Northern Ireland in 1964 and re-registered N 246. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:31
Memorial to be unveiled in Kirkcudbright to mark 40th anniversary of fishing boat tragedy
A memorial will be unveiled in Kirkcudbright next month to mark the 40th anniversary of a fishing boat tragedy. The trawler Mhari-L sank in the Irish Sea on February 20, 1985. All five men on board – William Maxwell, Stuart and Keith Campbell, George McKend and Mark Amos – lost their lives. Mark’s daughter, Donna McKnight, has been working with other family members on a ceremony and the unveiling of a memorial in Kirkcudbright next month. “I contacted someone from each of the other families and asked if they minded if I organised this and a ceremony for the anniversary and they were fine with that. The ceremony will take place at Kirkcudbright Harbour Square at 2pm on Saturday, February 22 and everyone is welcome to attend. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 18:30
UHI Shetland pays tribute to ‘greatly missed’ Ian Napier
Dr Napier, who worked as a senior fisheries policy advisor, was found in the water at Scousburgh on Saturday morning after being reported missing. UHI Shetland said its staff were “devastated” by the loss of their colleague. It said Dr Napier was a “well-respected scientist in his field”, as well as a “valued member of the marine science team”. Shetland Fishermen’s Association chairman James Anderson also paid tribute to Dr Napier, calling him a stalwart supporter of the local fishing industry. “Ian was passionate in his support of fishing, and literally wrote the book on Shetland’s fishing history,” he said. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:59
Offshore Wind is no breeze
This may just be a tad too radical for some, but I believe there’s a chance the great offshore wind boom is in serious danger of coming to a screaming halt and for the consumer, this may not be a bad thing. In fact, the more I think about it the more I believe that it may be a very good thing. Why? Well, let’s do the easy bit first. For Scotland, the industrial benefit of offshore wind is extremely limited and if the offshore wind industry disappeared overnight, it wouldn’t be as huge a loss to us as it would to countries such as Denmark, Germany and of course, China. You can argue about that amongst yourselves but anyway what’s much more likely to put the brakes on offshore wind is that the cost of offshore wind projects has increased dramatically and it’s increasingly difficult to see how to make money out of it without huge government guarantees and yet the minimum strike price being offered by governments under contracts for difference deals hasn’t been high enough to deal with that. It’s the reason the Danish Energy Agency didn’t receive a single bid for any of the three offshore wind farms last month. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:25 By Dick Winchester
‘Hollow words won’t protect Scottish fishing, industry chief warns
Offshore wind farms in the North Sea and the prime minister’s ambitions to “reset” relations between the UK and European Union are major dangers for the sector, they say. And they want politicians in Edinburgh, London and further afield to “radically rethink” their approach to the sector. Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) chief executive Elspeth Macdonald outlined these concerns in her new year message to ministers and civil servants “across the UK and beyond”. She said a widespread sense of crisis had spawned a bout of “initiative-itis” by the Scottish and UK governments. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:49
50 years plus: Zephyr PL 6
Janbill was built at Miller’s yard in Sto Monans as a copy of the 56ft Jeniska, although she was two frames shorter, at about 51ft. She was built alongside True Vine KY 7, which had an almost identical hull – although Janbill had a forward wheelhouse for stern trawling and True Vine didn’t. Both were launched on the same day – 29 March, 1974. Janbill was built for Eyemouth skipper Willie Dickson, the name coming from his and his wife’s names. She was fitted with a Mastra winch, a Carron power block and a Volvo Penta 290hp engine. She started work fishing the North Sea for whitefish, registered as LH 103. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:55
Fisherman tells of the moment his crew hauled in the wreckage of a missing German plane in their NET off the coast of Scotland
A fisherman has revealed the shocking moment he and his crew discovered the wreckage of a missing German plane more than 12 months after it disappeared. Benarkle II skipper, Mark Addison, hauled in a section of the Cessna 172’s fuselage while fishing on Friday and brought it to the Greenhead Base in Lerwick. The four-seater aircraft went missing after taking off from near Hamburg, Germany, with only the 62-year-old pilot on board on September 30, 2023. Mark and his seven crewmates were out on the seas 70 miles east of Scotland when they stumbled across the pieces of plane. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:44
Human remains found inside small plane pulled from the sea off the coast of Scotland
Human remains have been recovered from the wreckage of a missing German plane which crashed into the North Sea more than a year ago. The light aircraft was found in the water north-east of Lerwick, Shetland, on Friday and was brought to shore by a fishing boat on Sunday. Police Scotland have confirmed that human remains were found inside the plane. A trawler from Peterhead called the Benarkle II had hauled in a section of the plane’s fuselage while fishing on Friday and brought it to the Greenhead Base in Lerwick. Police met the trawler at the port and the plane’s wreckage was then loaded onto a truck and it has been taken for further examination. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:09
Fishing industry challenges from windfarms
Fishing in Dumfries and Galloway faces challenges because offshore windfarms are risking “squeezing out” the sector, according to the region’s MP. Dumfries and Galloway MP John Cooper raised the issue in Westminster last week, highlighting how floating offshore wind is just one of the sectors affecting the fishing industry. This is because you cannot fish between offshore turbines, and their seabed infrastructure is another impediment. During a Westminster Hall debate on fishing, he praised the vital contribution of fishing – mainly centred largely on scallops, lobster and crab worth millions – to coastal communities across Dumfries and Galloway. He said: “Fisherman are criticised as voracious plunderers – when really they are cautious custodians of the sea. “It took sterling work from my colleague Finlay Carson MSP to stave off the threat of the loss of livelihood for static gear fishermen along the Solway Coast. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:45
Carmichael leads backbench fisheries debate
Isles MP Alistair Carmichael has called for he termed “the modern gangsters of the sea” to be tackled more effectively by the UK’s marine enforcement agencies. His comments came after a German registered/Spanish owned gill netter, well known to local fishermen, were handed heavy fines by an Irish court for breaching fisheries legislation. The Orkney and Shetland MP led a three hour fisheries debate in parliament on Friday, which raised a wide range of issues important to the sector. Carmichael described the F/V Pesorsa Dos and [French long liner] F/V Antonio Maria as “notorious examples” engaged in dangerous behaviour towards local fishing vessels in the waters around Shetland in recent years. However, efforts by the local industry and the Northern Isles MP to get Marine Scotland, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) as well as the UK Government to act were largely unsuccessful. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:51
Trawlerman Jimmy Buchan: I earned £12 fishing 6 days a week at 14
Jimmy Buchan appeared in the Bafta-winning BBC series Trawlermen (2006-10) and published his memoir, Trawlerman: Life at the Helm of the Toughest Job in Britain, in 2011. The former skipper of Amity II has 40 years’ experience of North Sea fishing and has been running his own seafood supply company, Amity Fish, since 2019. Now 64, he is the chief executive of the Scottish Seafood Association and still lives in his home town of Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, with his wife, Irene. They have two grown-up daughters, Jenna and Amy. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:29
Launched as Sweet Promise A 746 in 1965, this Noble’s-built stalwart, Tern LH 53, has clocked up almost 60 years’ service
The 33ft Tern, which today is based at Port Seton, was built in 1965 by Jimmy Noble as Sweet Promise A 746 for Robbie Cormack and Ian Balgowan of Stonehaven, at a cost of £6,000. At the time she was unique, said Ian, as she had a wheelhouse amidships with a winch behind. According to the Noble build lists, she was built for ‘Mr Cormack’ – but she was originally registered to Ian. Gordon told me he imagined she had been built for the boatbuilder’s son, as ‘she was built like a brick shithouse, larch on oak’. The frames were so close together, he said, that back aft on the return you could not see the planks. Gordon continued: “She was tough as they come, so I rigged her for scallops with three dredges each side and worked mainly in Falmouth Bay, away from the Looe fleet, close inshore. Best catch was just over 800 dozen for a trip. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:44
Classic fishing boat: Bonnie Lass III RY 189
The Gerrard brothers were David and Andrew, who along with their father, also Andrew, had set up their boatbuilding business alongside the lifeboat station in Arbroath in the early 1950s. Their first build was the Bairn’s Pride AH 27, launched in 1955. They built at least 72 vessels up to 1990, after which they had to rely on repairs and overhauls to sustain the business. It went into receivership in 1994, largely due to the decline in the fishing fleet in the town, meaning that even maintenance work had dried up. Strathgarry SY 88 was painted green and was renowned for having a steep deck, with the distinctive Gerrard’s bow. The Caterpillar 250hp engine was forward at launch, though was moved aft later. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:12
MAIB report into loss of Ocean Maid
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has released its report into the grounding and subsequent loss of the Ocean Maid BA 55. The report – the purpose of which is not to attribute fault or blame – says that on the afternoon of 23 October 2022 the 1986-built prawn trawler left Eyemouth to make an overnight passage to a shipyard in Fraserburgh for planned maintenance and minor repairs. The vessel’s crew of four included the skipper and his father – the co-owners of the vessel – a watchkeeper and a deckhand. At around 2.40am, the watchkeeper took over the watch from the skipper. At approximately 5.35am, the watchkeeper checked the estimated time of arrival at Fraserburgh and recalled seeing an ETA of 5.56am ‘or thereabouts’ on the plotter display. The watchkeeper then left the wheelhouse and went down to the galley to make tea for the crew. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:46
Fishermen rescued after boat runs aground on banks of loch
A group of fishermen have been rescued after their boat ran aground and was stranded on the banks of a loch in the Highlands. The volunteer crew of the Oban lifeboat were paged at 7.30am on Friday, November 1, after the coastguard rescue centre received a report from a fishing boat that it had suffered steering issues. With all its crew accounted for and no injuries, the lifeboat left the scene but made arrangements to return in the afternoon when the tide was rising, to assist with re-floating the vessel. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:14
50 years plus: Sheigra SY 7
John Watt started building his boats in 1940 at Gardenstown, in a partnership with his two sons, before taking over the Stephen’s yard in Banff in 1954. Then, in 1966, they acquired the boatbuilding yard and engineering facilities of the Macduff Engineering Company when the previous owner retired. This allowed them to build bigger vessels up to 80ft in length. The name of the business was changed to the Macduff Boatbuilding and Engineering Company – the forerunner of today’s Macduff Shipyards. Lots of photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:54
Crew saved from North Sea as Fraserburgh trawler sinks in SOS emergency
Six crew members have been saved from a sinking Fraserburgh-registered fishing boat. An urgent plea was issued for vessels to assist in the search and rescue operation of the Odyssey FR70 trawler. The beacon was answered by a nearby boat, which headed to the Odyssey’s location. The crew were then transferred to the other vessel via life raft. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:22
Grounding and loss of the F/V Ocean Maid on Cairnbulg Point, Aberdeenshire, Scotland on 24 October 2022
At 05491 on the 24 October 2022, the UK registered fishing vessel Ocean Maid grounded on Cairnbulg Point to the east of Fraserburgh, Scotland. The four crew evacuated to a liferaft and were subsequently rescued by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Two of the crew sustained minor injuries and the vessel later broke up and sank. There was no significant pollution. The investigation found that: more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:27
Scots fishing tragedy widow in tribute to ‘miracle worker’ Alex Salmond
A widow of one of the fishermen who perished in the Sapphire fishing tragedy told how Alex Salmond performed a miracle to bring the bodies of her husband and four other crew member’s home. Shirley Henderson said she remains grateful to the former MP after her husband Robert Stephen, 24, Adam Stephen, 29, Bruce Cameron, 32, and Victor Podlesny, 45, died when their vessel sank 12 miles off the Aberdeenshire coast on October 1, 1997. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:35
The Fight to Raise the Sapphire – ‘We proved everybody wrong and we got our boys home’ – >>CLICK TO READ<<
Swinney gives commitment to ensure that fishing and offshore wind can co-exist
First minister John Swinney has given a commitment to ensuring the fishing industry and the offshore marine energy sector can exist together. It followed a stark warning by Elspeth Macdonald, the chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, that floating wind farms and the fishing sector are “simply not able to co-exist”. Speaking at last week’s SFF dinner, Macdonald call on the government to actively protect the fishing industry from the encroaching offshore wind industry. One example quoted by the industry is the proposed 500MW Stoura wind farm, 40 miles to east of Shetland, which could be built on top of prime fishing grounds for both the whitefish and the pelagic sector. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:47
New phone mast life-changing for Skye fisherman
Skye fisherman Iain MacAskill catches up on his emailing and other digital admin tasks during his long journeys out at sea. The Rural 4G Connectivity report says: “Fishing is a vitally important industry for Scotland’s rural and coastal communities. It feeds into the wider economy and provides employment opportunities for local people. Iain knows this all too well. “As a lifelong commercial fisherman on the Isle of Skye, Iain has lived experience of the struggle to stay connected when out working. Thanks to EE’s 4G upgrades, he – alongside his brother who is also his business partner – can run and grow his business from his smartphone, with fast and reliable mobile connectivity. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 17:42
Floating wind farms threaten to destroy Scotland’s fishing sector
The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) said despite efforts to find a solution to the problem, mobile fishing, and floating offshore wind farms “are simply not able to co-exist”. Speaking at the SFF’s annual dinner in Edinburgh – which was attended by First Minister John Swinney – Elspeth Macdonald said the renewable projects are an existential threat to jobs in the sector. She warned the Scottish Government about “sleep-walking” into supporting an industry that she claimed could “destroy our world-class food production”. She told the audience at the Scotsman Hotel: “Our businesses will be completely excluded from areas that have been fished for generations, and the consequences of that – on businesses, on people, on the environment – are simply not known. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:01
50 years and counting: Silver Cloud II WK 80
George Carter was born and bred in the Caithness village of Lybster, by the harbour, and he fished straight out of school, getting his skipper’s ticket in 1956 at the age of 21. His father Hugh was a fish curer with small creel boat, and his grandfather had always been keen to say that he’d never earned a penny on dry land! The Carter family have gone down in history with two record catches with the seine-net. In 1964, George’s brother Jack landed a record of 240 boxes of cod in a single drag in the Freswick grounds in the north of the Moray Firth aboard the Maid of Honour WK 30, which was built in 1950 by David Howarth of Scalloway (of Shetland Bus fame). Then George, aboard the Silver Cloud, landed 378 boxes with two drags in 1966. The 47ft Silver Cloud WK 207 was George’s first boat, which he purchased in 1962. That vessel was built at Bolson’s yard in Poole as an Admiralty MFV, and by 1951 was owned by John Watt of Fraserburgh, re-registered as FR 313. In 1952 she was sold to Tom Scott Goodlad of Scalloway and re-registered as LK 217. Tom tragically died onboard in May 1958. His brother John then took the boat. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:38
Fishing Vessel Eternal Promise – Scotland’s Whitelink Seafoods welcomes new scalloper to coastal fleet
Macduff Shipyards of Scotland recently handed over a new scallop fishing vessel ordered by local owner Whitelink Seafoods for year-round operation around the coastal waters of the UK. Designed by Macduff Ship Design, Eternal Promise measures 19.98 by 7.4 metres (65.66 by 24 feet) and has space for seven crewmembers. It is the second vessel built by Macduff Shipyards for Whitelink after an earlier vessel handed over in 2019. The newbuild was originally intended to be a sister ship to the previous vessel, but a decision was taken by the yard and the owner to build a new design that would offer increased deck/fishing gear space, improved crew welfare, a more efficient hull form, and a new stern gear package with an aim to improve overall fuel efficiency. photos, specifications and more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 18:50
Fifty years plus: Jeniska KY 253
It was a still night after the previous day’s gale, the darkness reduced by the lights from the town, a slight smirr damping all around. The boats were in alongside Campbeltown quay, and unloading had begun. Four boats, each with boxes of prawns sitting on the deck or being hauled up to the waiting hands. The four boats – Silver Fern OB 84, Silver Lining III TT 37 (built as Emulate KY 44), Adoration II CN 78 and Jeniska CN 153 are all over 50 years old, with one, Adoration II, being almost 60. All are now working at the prawns, with a chequered history. But it was Jeniska I’d really come to see and here she was, water gently lapping at her old hull as her crew unloaded their catch. Jeniska was built by JN Miller and Sons of St Monans in 1971 and was commissioned by William H Anderson and John Fleming of Kilrenny in Fife. At 15.66m (56ft) in length, she was fitted with a Gardner 8L3B 229hp. She was one the dual- purpose seiner/trawlers for which Miller’s was renowned, all with the classic transom sterns. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 17:19
