OWNERS OF FISHING VESSEL PLEAD GUILTY TO FAILING TO ENSURE CREW HOLD APPROPRIATE SAFETY CERTIFICATES.

During a fishing trip in the Irish Sea on 27th January 2012, the United Kingdom registered fishing vessel Zenith, port letters B470 was hauling nets, when Andrius Kalinda (now known to be Nikolai Nedoliz) fell into the sea and was drowned. None of the crew was wearing life jackets at the time.

The MCA investigation found that two crew members including the deceased did not hold all of the required safety training certificates. Two of the crew held no safety training certificates at all.

The owners of the vessel, John More (57) and David Campbell (50) pleaded guilty at Downpatrick Magistrates Court on Wednesday 8th May 2013 to breaching the Fishing Vessels (Safety Training) Regulations 1989 section 2 and each was fined £1,250.00 plus £75.00 costs.

On summing up the Magistrate said: you had a serious responsibility to the crew to ensure that they were properly trained.

Captain Bill Bennett Area Operations Manager (Survey and Inspection) Northern Ireland for the MCA stated that:-

"Ensuring that fishermen undertake safety training has been an ongoing issue for many years. The safety Training Regulations came into force in 1989. The safety record within the industry as a whole is still far from satisfactory.  Where the regulations are breached the MCA will investigate and where appropriate persons will be prosecuted.

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