MP's safety plea after husband's death at sea
A SOUTH East Cornwall MP whose fisherman husband died in an accident on board his trawler has made an impassioned plea to other commercial skippers to install better safety equipment on their vessels.
Neil Murray, 57, husband of MP Sheryll Murray, died from multiple injuries after a toggle on the hood of his jacket got tangled in the net as he was hauling it in, an inquest has heard.
The "safety conscious" and experienced fisherman was working alone and could not reach the lever to stop the net drum on his stern trawler Our Boy Andrew, the hearing was told.
Mrs Murray, who became an MP at the 2010 general election, said after the inquest that, like increasing numbers of fishermen, he worked alone because he could not afford to employ a deck hand.
She urged fishermen to take advantage of grants that would pay up to 60 per cent of the £1,300 cost of having an emergency stop button fitted and also cut the toggles from their hoods.
"This might make what is seen as an expense that can be put off for another day, affordable now," she said.
"I would like to urge all working fishermen to cut their toggles off. It is better to lose the cord out of your oilskin than lose your life. Neil didn't do that and he tragically lost his life."
Father-of-two Mr Murray was found by lifeboat crew snared in the jammed mechanism around 12 hours after the accident on March 24 last year.
Mr Murray, who lived with his wife in Millbrook, suffered multiple injuries including massive chest injuries and a severed arm. The inquest in the former Caradon Council chamber in Liskeard heard that many fishermen in Cornwall and across the country increasingly operate their vessels single-handedly because they do not make enough money to employ deckhands.
Mr Murray, who had been fishing for more than 30 years, knew the risks and was described as being very safety conscious. The inquest heard that a crewman who worked on the boat with him years ago had caught clothing on the net drum and only avoided death or serious injury when Mr Murray pulled the lever to stop the mechanism.
The jury of four men and four women returned a verdict of accidental death.
Comments
by Roskearman
Sunday, February 12 2012, 1:05AM
“Fishermen have always rejected safety as they have said it's too restrictive and cumbersome for them to work with. Which of course is total rubbish. the truth is they never wanted it. When I was in the merchant navy just about every company I worked for insisted that the Crewsaver life jackets, Helmets and very often fall harnisses were to be worn (all at the same time) when working on the Deck or in the Lifeboats and they were never in the way, cumbersome or restrictive in any way. as for safety devices; why are they not fitted as standard by the machinery manufacturers like nearly all other industrial machinery. Most machines I've operated in the past have been designed around safety. For example interlocked guards that won't let the machine start if they are not in place, overload, over pressure, over run, high temperature, low pressure, fire, and fluid level safety devices have always been there.
It's normal for a machine to be rendered dangerous and taken out of service if a safety device is found to be faulty. Further more if anybody removed or bypassed a safety mechanism they would be punished severely for putting themselves, their colleagues and the machine at risk.
Before a Fireman can go into a fire he has to be fully and correctly dressed complete with the heavy, cumbersome B.A. set and charged hose. Items he has to work with whether he wants to or not, his life depends in them. Divers have to be properly dressed and equiped before they go into the water, Military personnel have to be correctly kitted with everything they require, Clothing, Weapons, ammunition even food, medical supplies and communications equipment have to be personally and manually carried into battlefields and used under all climatic and hectic conditions. If Lifeboat crews can work and operate in all the personal safety clothing they have to wear; then why can't Fishermen? Any Industry or profession can be as dangerous OR SAFE as the operatives wish to make it.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and especially Insurance companies are forcing most industries to adopt safety, so why do their representitives not go aboard fishing vessels and use their authority to declare a vessel unsafe, unseaworthy or uninsurable if personal safety equipment is not provided or worn, or all safety devices/equipment is not fitted, tested or correctly and fully operational??? Then enforce the issue by not allowing the vessel to go to sea until they are satisfied that safety is paramount.”