Report to stop more deaths after fishermen drown

The Nicola Faith failed to return to Conwy and the bodies of its three crew were later found at sea

Inadequate checks on adapted fishing boats could put them at risk, according to a coroner's report.

It comes after three fishermen drowned when their boat sank off the Conwy coast during calm weather on 27 January 2021.

David Lewis, assistant coroner for North Wales East and Central, has produced a prevention of future deaths report following their inquests.

It was told that the boat had been modified in several ways and its stability had been affected as a result.

Skipper Carl McGrath, 34, Alan Minard, 20, and Ross Ballantine, 39, had been collecting whelks when the Nicola Faith went down.

Mr Lewis gave a narrative conclusion into the men's deaths after a jury inquest.

And he has sent the prevention of future deaths report to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).

It has until 11 September to respond to the report.

Carl McGrath, Ross Ballantine and Alan Minard drowned after their fishing boat sank

The boat's safety certificate was issued in 2017 and the vessel was inspected again in 2019 and 2020 following two breakdowns.

But a MCA inspector did not think its stability had been affected by the adaptations.

The inspector told the inquest it could have operated safely with a load of up to one tonne but the actual load, which had not been distributed appropriately, was closer to 4.6 tonnes.

In his report, Mr Lewis said he was somewhat reassured to learn at the hearing that the relevant regulations had been strengthened since the tragedy.

But he went on to say that he was "concerned that in this case (and, therefore, possibly in other cases) the agency did not establish or apply a clear threshold in determining the need for a full stability assessment to be performed following significant modifications to the vessel".

'Insufficient'

He said "too much reliance was placed on... reassurances offered by the skipper of the vessel in relation to his appreciation of risk".

And "informal visual assessments of the impact of the modifications which were undertaken whilst the vessel was in dock and was not under-loaded conditions".

He said "insufficient concern arose from the issues identified on the two occasions when Holyhead Coastguard advised the Agency of the need to rescue the vessel following breakdowns at sea".

Mr Lewis added: "I am concerned that other vessels (whether a similar size or otherwise) may be operating, which have been modified since the issue of the original safety certificate and which require a full stability assessment before their operational safety can be properly evaluated."

The MCA has been asked to respond with "details of action taken or proposed to be taken, setting out the timetable for action".

The wreck was eventually recovered from the seabed off Colwyn Bay