The family of a fisherman who went missing in April last year after are calling for a fatal accident inquiry into his death

Relatives of missing fisherman Scott MacAlister are calling for the sunken boat to be salvaged after they claim a Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) report fails to fully explain his death.
 
The 40-year-old was reported missing after the vessel he was a share fisherman on sank south of Oban on 25th April 2013.
 
A marine investigation report found that the boat’s owner had failed to carry out annual safety checks and that lifesaving equipment was out of date and had not been serviced.
 
It also found that the boat’s bilge pump and bilge alarm were not working.
 
The report said: “Speedwell probably sank as a result of water ingress through an unsealed and unsecured flush deck hatch.”
 
Peter MacAlister, father of Scott, claims that a full inspection of the wreckage is needed in order for the MAIB to know what really happened.
 
He also says the Marine and Coastguard Agency fell short of its duties by allowing the vessel to go to sea without any safety checks for four years.
 
The fisherman, whose body has never been found, contacted his partner moments before the boat sank.
 
Mr MacAlister said that in a phone call to his partner, Scott described water “going down the hatches, that the boat was sinking and that the owner had to sort the boat out”.
 
Mr MacAlister added: “We have always accepted that Scott has got to carry some of the blame himself to use the boat in that condition but Scott was the crew. It should have been up to the owner to make sure the pump was working. The equipment was out of date.”
 
The family are calling for a fatal accident inquiry in order to clarify what happened.

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