A BRIXHAM fishing boat skipper who fell asleep and crashed his 12-metre trawler into the South Devon port's breakwater has been fined £11,873.
Ian Hurford (pictured above), 35, from Lakes Road pleaded guilty to failing to maintain a lookout on board his day trawler Angelina on September 23 last year and failing to discharge his duties when he appeared at Torquay Magistrates court.
Fining Hurford £3,500 for each offence and giving him credit for his early guilty plea, chairman of the bench Anne Tully said his actions were 'dangerous to the extreme'.
She added: "You are an experienced fisherman, who has been out at sea all your life.
"You had recently been on a watch training programme and both these offences show a woeful lack of competence which could have resulted in harm at a busy harbour entrance. It was lucky no one else was injured."
She fined Hurford the maximum possible and also ordered him to pay the full costs of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency costs which totalled £4,858.31 plus the £15 victim surcharge.
Prosecuting on behalf of the MCA, Robert Newman listed a seven-day log of fishing trips running up to the accident at 9pm that frequently saw Hurford setting sail at 4am and not returning until 16 hours later. Three days before the accident he went out on a 42-hour fishing trip without returning to port.
The day before the accident he fished for 18 and a half hours and on the day of the accident he had set sail at 4am.
Hurford was interviewed two months after the accident by Captain Andrew Phillips from the MCA.
During that interview, which was read to the court, he said: "I got into the bay and the heat just got to me and the next thing I know we have hit the shore."
Capt Phillips asked Hurford if he had 'dozed off' and Hurford replied: "Yes I think I must have dozed off.
"We sort of bounced off it a bit, we weren't wedged really hard."
Mr Newman said: "Falling asleep at the helm is not consistent with the skipper's duty and if someone had been there he would not have seen them in any event."
Hurford explained he had since changed his crew working practices and installed a watch alarm that sounds every five minutes.
In mitigation David Hassall, for Hurford, said his client's trawler was 'a tiddler in the fleet' and had needed expensive repairs to the hull which cost £7,000. Repairs to the gearbox are estimated at between £14,000 and £20,000 and winch repairs have cost £10,000. He also broke his fibula in December and has hardly worked, landing a gross total of only £12,000 worth of fish since the injury.
Mr Hassall, said: "He bounced off the breakwater, no one was hurt, no public property was damaged, and the only damage was to his own vessel, his pride and reputation as a skipper.
"He is the third generation of fishermen and has been assisting his father, effectively since he was in nappies."
Mr Hassall also said the prosecution's costs were 'excessive'.
Speaking after the hearing Capt Phillips said: "You must take into account fatigue because it can catch up and bite you when you least expect it.
"The message is clear and unequivocal."
Brixham Harbourmaster, Paul Labistour, said: "This incident highlights the need for mariners to keep a safe look-out at all times, to ensure that they have sufficient rest periods and that they maintain a proper bridge management regime."
source: thisissouthdevon.co.uk
Offshore Claims
