Shetland trawler hits out at 'dangerous' encounter

A Shetland-based trawler crew have hit out at the "dangerous" behaviour of a French boat which they claim tried to entangle their propeller with a rope.

The crew of Lerwick-based Defiant videoed the encounter with the Antonio Maria, 18 miles off Shetland, just outside UK territorial waters.

Fishermen are now calling for tougher action and powers for the authorities to prevent lives being put at risk.

The French vessel's owners said they were protecting their equipment.

In a statement they said the skipper tried to contact Defiant asking it to change course, but after receiving no response, followed the trawler "in parallel" to protect its fishing longline.

They accepted that the boats came very close but said Antonio Maria turned away to avoid a collision. They did not respond to the claim that an attempt was made to foul the trawler's propeller.

Defiant's skipper, Magnus Polson, told BBC Scotland News: "They just kept getting closer and closer.

"You don't really have time to think, you just have to do what you think is right, so we just started hauling up and focused on that to get out of the situation."

The Defiant was trawling 18 miles off the coast of Shetland when the incident happened

He said his crew had some contact with the French vessel prior to the incident to confirm routes, but he claimed the Antonio Maria altered onto a collision course.

The crew of the other boat then threw a rope into the water, which the skipper says was an attempt to entangle Defiant's propeller.

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Mr Polson said the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) does not have jurisdiction beyond UK territorial waters, which extend 12 nautical miles, a rule he thinks needs to change.

"To me I find that kind of unbelievable how an island doesn't even have control of what's going on with its water just outside 12 miles because in the grand scheme of things 12 miles is basically on your doorstep" he continued.

"I hope this is the last time such an incident happens because seeing how close they were to our boat, there was very little we could do.

"Someday it's going to happen in fatalities or a boat loss and we don't want it to end up like that."

Sheila Keith wants to see the government given new power to control vessels that are acting dangerously

Sheila Keith, from the Shetland Fishermen's Association said the French vessel "very clearly" broke maritime rules but there were unlikely to be any repercussions.

She told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland the UK government should be given legal powers to control such behaviour.

"This reckless behaviour has to be punished, it can't be condoned," she said.

She added: "These activities are happening far too frequently and getting more risky and more dangerous. We can't afford for it to take a loss of life before something happens."

Ms Keith said Defiant was trawling at the time which affected its ability to manoeuvre.

She said the crew acted in a very "responsible manner" during the incident and had been left feeling "frustrated".

The MCA said it was committed to maritime safety and would investigate any breaches that could potentially put lives at risk.

A spokeswoman said: "If deemed necessary we will raise safety concerns with the relevant Flag State of vessels when appropriate.

"As an agency, we regulate UK and Foreign Flag vessels within the 12 nautical mile territorial limit as defined in international law - however, the MCA does not have jurisdiction over foreign flagged vessels outside of this area."