Safety Net
Capsizing – The Real Cost
By Gina Johansen,
BCSA Fishing Industry Safety Coordinator
hen I was asked to do a column on safety at sea, I
thought long and hard about
what I could write that might make a
real difference. After all, there’s lots
of safety information available but
unfortunately, fishing accidents and
fatalities have not decreased. So, I
decided that real-life experiences may
provide a new perspective. During the
creation of the Safe at Sea video
series*, I was present during many
interviews with survivors and families, so I know there are many stories
out there. To be brave and set the tone
I thought I would start with my own.
My earliest memories of fishing are
of my dad coming home from halibut
W
trips in the Bering Sea. Sometimes
he was gone for a month, or two, but
no matter how long, I always knew
the cab would pull up and there he
would be with his big old duffel bag
in one hand, smelling of diesel and
salt air. My dad survived lots of horrific weather (even a tsunami on
board Sleep Robber) but he always
came home.
Then early one morning off
Cumshewa in The Queen Charlotte
Islands his 60-ft aluminum seiner
Bravado capsized with six lives lost. The
Transport Canada investigators reported the most likely cause as: “a lashing
on the seine skiff parted allowing this
craft, which was stowed on the stern, to
shift to the starboard side, catching a sea
and capsizing the Bravado.”
I had talked to my dad just a few
hours earlier as they were leaving
Port Edward and told him to “have a
safe trip”, I would see him in a couple
of days. I now wonder exactly what I
meant by that. Did I mean, do everything possible to ensure that you are
prepared for every emergency? Did I
mean don’t travel when you know you
are over-tired, or wait until morning
to fuel up first so you are better ballasted because your vessel design
includes fuel as necessary ballast for
stability? Did I or anyone on the crew
doubt for one minute that they all
would be back? Never.
What are you
waiting for ?
A
FE
AT S
E
There are more than a couple
of good reasons to fish safe.
SA
www.WorkSafebc.com
If you have questions about workplace safety, call the
WCB Prevention Line at 604-276-3100, toll-free in BC at
1888 621-SAFE (7233), or contact your local WCB office
For information and resources regarding
safety at sea, contact: www.fishsafebc.com
Phone: 604.261.9700
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March 2005 WESTERN MARINER
17
Safety Net
• Vessel Owners for adequately
maintaining their vessels and
ensuring modifications are documented and do not impact seaworthiness and, importantly, for
pushing for changes to DFO policies that ultimately affect the safe
operation of their vessels.
• Fish Buyers for expecting fishermen to make unrealistic delivery
deadlines.
• Skippers for properly orienting
their crew to the vessel, to safe fishing operations and emergency preparedness.
• The crew for ensuring they understand their role in an emergency
situation and can identify unsafe
practices and remedy them, or
report them to the skipper.
Right now, we are still averaging
five capsizings per year in the BC
fisheries. So, as tragic as our family’s
loss was, the majority of the recommendations made after the Transport
Canada investigation are still being
repeated time and again. Their report
limited the contributing factors to
weather and operations but I have
included here what I believe to be the
more specific factors that contributed
to this tragedy [see box: Bravado
Capsize]. And I believe the best way
to prevent their reoccurrence is for
every skipper and crew to incorporate
safety into their regular sea-going
routine – to create an onboard safety
culture.
This is my story. I hope it will
move at least some of you to re-examine your vessel and crew and ensure
you are safe at sea.
▲
So should we just accept that at any
time our loved ones may not come
home? Is this the nature of the business? I don’t think so. From all I’ve
learned from this tragedy and my
years of fishing I believe this accident
was preventable and that we can all
do something to prevent capsizings
in the future.
Why do I say this? Because no one
in their right mind would put their
lives in danger if they knew better.
And this means my dad, who had
more experience than most, did not
know what danger he was in. In his
case, he went from a beamy wooden
75-ft double-decker halibut boat to a
60-ft hard-chined aluminum vessel
which no one had much experience
with at that time. In my view his
boat’s stability tests did not take into
consideration his actual fishing operations, though my dad believed that
having stability test papers ensured
that nothing could happen (look up
the meaning of ‘bravado’).
To me, this means that basic safety
education was missing on his boat.
Not just classroom stuff, but what we
now refer to as a “safety culture” at
sea – where safety becomes routine.
However, in order to do that, everyone has to make an effort and take
responsibility for their role in providing a safe and seaworthy environment, including:
• DFO for vessel replacement rules
that restrict length and can lead to
compromised designs and ultimately unsafe vessels.
• Naval Architects for explaining the
limitations of stability data especially during fishing operations.
FV Bravado Capsize
Year:
Fishery:
Vessel:
Result:
1975
Herring
60 ft aluminum seiner
6 Lives Lost
Contributing Factors
• Vessel Replacement Policy
• Vessel Modifications
• Vessel Stability
• Fisheries Management
• Weather and Sea State
• Lack of Sleep
• Operational Failure
• Mechanical Failure
• Lack of Safety Training
• No Immersion Suits
• No PFDs
Gina Johansen is the Fishing Industry
Safety Coordinator for the BC Seafood
Alliance now working in cooperation
with the Workers Compensation Board
of BC to reduce fatalities in the fishing
industry . You can reach Gina at 604261-9700 or [email protected] *
Copies of the “Safe at Sea” video can be
ordered online at
www.bcseafoodalliance.com
COASTAL INC
Custom Fabrication & Aluminum Pipe Fitting
Tel: (604) 274-0222
Fax: (604) 274-8774
13060 No. 2 Road, Richmond, B.C. V7E 2G1
▲
18
WESTERN MARINER March 2005
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