Caledonian MacBrayne has requested the advice of the MCA after confirming that it also uses the lifejackets worn by the three men who lost their lives in the crab boat Louisa accident

01 August 2017

Ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne, also known as CalMac, has confirmed they also use the lifejackets that were worn by the crew of the Louisa, the crab boat that sank off Mingulay last year. Three men died in the accident.

The three men were found in the water faced down. If the lifejackets had functioned properly, the crew should have been facing up, to avoid taking water in.

An investigation by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) confirmed that the lifejackets worn by the crew of the Louisa did not function as they should have.

Caledonian MacBrayne have requested the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s advice on which lifejackets to use on their boats.

Louisa skipper Paul Allison, 42, and crewmember Chris Morrison, 27, from Harris, and Martin Johnstone, 29, from Caithness lost their lives in the tragic accident.

The fourth crew member, Lachlan Armstrong, 27, had clung to rocks before being rescued by the Barra RNLI lifeboat. He was taken to hospital at Stornoway and was not seriously injured.

 

28 July 2017

An urgent review into how life jackets are tested is being recommended by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) following the sinking of the Louisa.

The skipper of the crab boat, Paul Alliston, 42, and two crew, Chris Morrison, 27, and Martin Johnstone, 29, died when it foundered on 9 April 2016 while anchored close to Mingulay Bay in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland.

Only Lachlann Armstrong, 27, survived after swimming ashore.

A blue and white crab boat called the Louisa is recovered after sinking off Scotland

The recovery of the Louisa. Credit: MAIB Publications

The MAIB investigation found that all three men were found face down in the water in their life jackets.

Life jackets are designed to turn an unconscious person on their back to keep their airway clear of the water.

As a result, the MAIB is asking the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to review the suitability of lifejacket water performance test requirements, and to bring any shortcomings identified to the attention of the International Maritime Organization.

The MAIB investigation also found a delay in the rescue operation.

The report said the crew had been working late the previous evening and had woken in the early hours of 9 April 2016 to find the Louisa sinking rapidly by the bow.

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They were able to escape to the aft deck, activate the emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB), and to don lifejackets.

However, they were unable to inflate the liferaft as they abandoned the vessel. It was later found that it failed to deploy because a canister used to inflate it was empty following a service of the kit.

At 0232, an alert from Louisa’s EPIRB was detected by a geostationary search and rescue satellite and forwarded through the Cospas-Sarsat system to the United Kingdom Mission Control Centre (UKMCC).

The UKMCC relayed the alert to HM Coastguard, but confusion over terminology resulted in delays before search and rescue units were sent to the scene.

“When Barra lifeboat arrived in Mingulay Bay, the crew were able to assist one crewman, who had swum to the shore and climbed onto rocks. They located the uninflated liferaft and beside it found the skipper and one crewman unresponsive and face down in the water, despite wearing approved abandonment lifejackets,” stated the report.

Orange life jackets with black webbing straps

The crew’s life jackets. Credit: MAIB Publications

“The other crewman had attempted to swim to the shore and was found, also face down and unresponsive, still wearing his lifejacket, close to the beach. The skipper’s body was lost as the lifeboat crew attempted to recover him and remains missing”.

Louisa was not transmitting an AIS signal, and the skipper and crew were not equipped with personal locator beacons.

“The rescue services were therefore reliant on gathering local information while awaiting a confirmed position from the vessel’s EPIRB,” MAIB investigators found.

The MAIB raised the wreck of the Louisa as part of its investigation.

It concluded that the crab boat sank as a result of a deck wash hose flooding the hold while the crew and skipper were asleep.

An orange liferaft which failed to inflate

Louisa’s liferaft which failed to inflate. Credit: MAIB Publications

Investigators found that all machinery and accommodation doors were left open and the hold hatch cover was secured in the open position.

Louisa had been fitted with bilge pumps and bilge level alarms as required by The Code of Practice for the Safety of Small Fishing Vessels.

However, the hold bilge alarm had previously been disabled, which prevented early notification of hold flooding to the skipper and crew.

In a statement, Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents Steve Clinch said:

“A failure of Louisa’s liferaft to inflate and a delay in the arrival of search and rescue assets meant that, after abandoning the vessel, the skipper and crew depended on their lifejackets for survival.”

“A lifejacket should turn an unconscious person onto their back and keep their airway clear of the water. It is therefore of concern that the skipper and two crew were tragically found unresponsive and face down in their lifejackets when the rescue services arrived on scene,” he continued.

“The results of lifejacket trials undertaken by the MAIB and of lifejacket testing commissioned by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) following the accident strengthen that concern. Therefore, as a matter of urgency, I am recommending the MCA to conduct further research to confirm or otherwise the suitability of historical and extant lifejacket water performance test protocols,” concluded Chief Inspector Clinch.

 

17 May 2016

The crab boat, Louisa sank at anchor off Mingulay in the Western Isles, Scotland on 9 April.

Now, the vessel has been raised to help the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) determine why the boat foundered.

It is expected to arrive in Glasgow today, having been transported there by barge.

Three of the crew lost their lives in the sinking.

The bodies of Chris Morrison, 27, from Harris and Martin Johnstone, 29, from Caithness were recovered on 9 April.

The fishing boat’s skipper, 42-year-old Paul Allison, from Lewis, remains missing and is presumed dead.

The fourth crew member, Lachlan Armstrong, 27, had clung to rocks before being rescued by the Barra RNLI lifeboat. He was taken to hospital at Stornoway and was not seriously injured.

The MAIB has stated that salvaging the boat will aid its investigation. The Louisa was raised on 15 May.

Investigators will also examine the reasons why the Louisa’s life raft failed to release and then did not inflate.

13 April 2016

Police Scotland have named Chris Morrison, 27, from Harris and Martin Johnstone, 29, from Caithness as the two men whose bodies were recovered on 9 April, following the sinking of the Louisa.

The fishing boat’s skipper, 42-year-old Pail Allison, from Lewis, remains missing. Searches for him are continuing.

The fourth crew member, Lachlan Armstrong, 27, had already been named by the media. He had clung to rocks before being rescued by the Barra RNLI lifeboat. He was taken to hospital at Stornoway and was not seriously injured.

The Louisa sank while at anchor at around 3.45am on 9 April. 

An investigation by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) and Police Scotland into the sinking is already underway.

11 April 2016

Four fishermen were onboard the Louisa when the boat starting to take on water in the early hours of 9 April.

In a statement, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) says the coastguard received a distress alert just before 3.45am on April 9, when the vessel’s emergency positioning beacon (EPIRB) was activated near Mingulay, Western Isles.

The coastguard search and rescue helicopter based at Stornoway, along with the Barra RNLI lifeboat were deployed to search the area. One crew member was found and taken to hospital by helicopter. Two other crew members were found dead.

The search for the fourth fisherman from the Louisa has now been scaled back, says the MCA. It involved the coastguard search and rescue helicopters based at Stornoway and Prestwick, the Barra RNLI lifeboat, local fishing vessels and Police Scotland.

Next of kin are being kept updated and police officers are in contact with the families.

The National Maritime Operations Commander, for UK Coastguard, Mark Rodaway said, “Despite an intensive search including the helicopters, lifeboat and other fishing vessels in the area, we have been unable to locate the missing fisherman. Our thoughts are with all those involved”.

Chief Inspector Alastair Garrow, Police Scotland said, “At this time we can confirm that the bodies of two men have been recovered. A third man was rescued and was taken to hospital at Stornoway. He is not seriously injured”.

“A fourth man was on the boat and is still missing. The next of kin of all the men have been informed. This has been a tragic incident which will impact on the local community. Our thoughts are with the families affected,” he concluded.

Police Scotland and the MAIB are carrying out a joint investigation into the sinking of the Louisa and a report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal.