Skipper's near miss after boat capsizes near Exmouth

Investigations looking into a fishing vessel that went down off the coast of Exmouth have been completed.

On 18 June 2021, a fishing vessel called Angelena capsized and sank around eight miles  south-east of Exmouth.

The skipper, who was working on the vessel alone, had been attempting to land a catch on deck at the time.

The end of the net was full of sand, mud and fish. Once it was lifted out the water, it swung away from vessel’s side causing it to capsize. 

The skipper did not have time to raise the alarm before entering the water. 

However they were wearing a lifejacket fitted with a personal locator beacon and managed to swim to the vessel’s liferaft, which had floated free.

The skipper activated the personal locator beacon once in the liferaft and was rescued unharmed by a nearby vessel around 40 minutes later. 

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch report said: “Angelena was not required to undergo a stability assessment nor had recommended roll or heel tests been conducted to identify potential stability issues. 

“Further, no guidance was available for operating a vessel of Angelena’s size alone and a crew of more than one person was known to have formed the basis of its risk assessments. 

“The low fuel levels and excessive load in the suspended net lowered the margins of stability, which caused the rapid capsize and loss of Angelena.”

The skipper was “experienced and qualified” but unaware of stability risks, according to the report. 

It said: “The skipper was fortunate to enter the water uninjured and be able to inflate and board Angelena’s liferaft and raise the alarm.”

As a result of these findings, recommendations have been made to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to improve fishers’ understanding of stability, require risk assessments that define minimum crewing levels for fishing operations.

A recommendation has also been made to the skipper of Angelena to attend the Seafish Advanced Stability Awareness course.