In this safety lesson, a veteran trawl fisher explains what he has learned from real-life involvement in person overboard incidents.
Mark has operated in the Queensland East Coast and Torres Strait Prawn Trawl Fisheries for over 40 years. He has had three crew overboard, pulled others out of the water and been part of numerous searches for those in the water.
Mark says the scariest point of a man overboard incident is identifying that the person is really overboard. Or is he on the vessel in the toilet, or in his cabin? Mark knows how scary that is and the risks of lost time looking, before confirming what to do next.
Mark has lost three overboard and thankfully found them all. One that was hanging in a net after the crewmember went out to the end of the boom to do something and went over.
Mark says if you’ve got a problem with your gear then it’s sensible to steam five miles to find a bit of calm water to fix it, rather than attempt to do it in rough seas. The risks aren’t worth the possible time saved.
Mark encourages his guys to wear inflatable lifejackets when they’re out on the booms. He also has good railings on his boat and booms, and good lights, including a free-range man-overboard light.
You can read Mark’s full story here.