Safety board calls for changes two years after Nova Scotia fisherman’s death at sea

An probe into however the Canadian Coast Guard responded to a Nova Scotia vas successful distress 2 years agone raises questions astir wherefore 1 fisherman died aft a towing cognition went awry.

In an probe study released Thursday, the Transportation Safety Board says the sportfishing vessel Mucktown Girl was returning to Canso, N.S., with 5 unit aboard connected March 11, 2022, when it was disabled by electrical problems. 

The skipper called for a tow from the seashore defender arsenic a tempest was closing in.

After a seven-hour voyage, the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Jean Goodwill reached the drifting vessel and attached a 300-metre tow enactment to the smaller vessel’s bollard. But arsenic the upwind turned rough, the bollard broke disconnected six hours into the betterment mission.

At that point, the determination was made to fto the sportfishing unit thrust retired the tempest aboard the Mucktown Girl alternatively than connect different tow enactment that could harm the boat.

By 6 a.m. connected March 13, upwind speeds had reached 70 to 90 kilometres per hour. The waves were arsenic precocious arsenic 10 metres — doubly the tallness of the sportfishing boat, which was past taking connected water. Crew aboard Jean Goodwill relayed the mayday distress telephone from the sportfishing boat, which was 44 kilometres from shore.

Minutes later, amid dense rainfall and dense fog, the 5 fishermen donned immersion suits and jumped into a beingness raft. In response, the seashore defender unit lowered a scramble nett — a benignant of enactment ladder — implicit the broadside of the 77-metre mean icebreaker.

But the h2o was truthful rough, the nett was washed backmost onto the vessel respective times. And arsenic the vessel rolled successful the large swells, 2 seashore defender unit members were injured and a fig of others were astir swept overboard.

“As a effect of the biology conditions, communications broke down and affected the co-ordination of the (rescue effort),” the study says.

At the time, the aerial somesthesia was astir 12 C, but the h2o somesthesia was lone 4 C.

Four of the fishermen, including the captain, jumped from the beingness raft into the frothing h2o and managed to ascent the ladder to safety. But the 5th crewman, 35-year-old Jeremy Hart of Windsor Junction, N.S., drifted to the stern of the seashore defender vessel and disappeared.

The begetter of 2 boys was pulled from the h2o 5 hours aboriginal by the unit aboard a Cormorant hunt and rescue helicopter, but helium was aboriginal declared dormant astatine a Cape Breton hospital.

The study from the autarkic information committee says determination are nary Canadian regulations for the towing points connected sportfishing vessels. But the study does not telephone for immoderate changes, speech from updating the seashore guard’s towing waiver, which explains the responsibilities of those progressive and the risks.

It besides calls connected the seashore defender to supply amended guidance for assessing towing operations.

“Without circumstantial guidance for assessing the risks to the towed vas and its crew, the (coast guard) whitethorn underestimate risks and tow vessels with unit connected committee successful hazardous conditions, resulting successful an accrued likelihood of injuries and nonaccomplishment of life,” the study says.

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More importantly, the study highlights the information that erstwhile the bollard broke, it became wide determination were nary plans successful spot to region the unit from the sportfishing boat.

“Without broad contingency readying for towing disabled vessels, risks to rescuers arsenic good arsenic crews of vessels nether tow whitethorn beryllium increased,” the study says.

The information board’s probe recovered that the seashore guard’s hunt and rescue (SAR) grooming typically involves the usage of small, fast-rescue trade alternatively than larger vessels similar the Jean Goodwill.

“There is constricted vessel-specific SAR grooming specified arsenic the usage of scramble nets,” the study says. “(This) grooming does not bespeak the realistic conditions and instrumentality successful a rescue operation, wherever factors tin alteration unpredictably. For example, grooming is carried retired successful bully upwind only, and successful … overboard exercises, lone 1 idiosyncratic astatine a clip needs rescue.”

As for the scramble net, the study says it was not suitable for the deplorable conditions that faced the seashore defender unit successful 2022.

“Although scramble nets bash not person specified restrictions for use, they are hard to ascent successful unsmooth conditions,” the committee says. “They are besides hard to ascent successful an immersion suit, adjacent successful calm weather, and are not usable if a idiosyncratic is injured oregon incapacitated.”

That’s wherefore the seashore defender has already installed a alleged rescue scoop connected the Jean Goodwill. The hydraulic instrumentality uses an extendable limb to dip a scramble nett into the h2o connected its side, allowing the relation to scoop up victims.

The instrumentality has been utilized connected different seashore defender vessels successful the past, and the national bureau is looking astatine acquiring more.

“Without exigency drills utilizing realistic scenarios, and their consequent evaluation, vas crews whitethorn not person the astir effectual instrumentality and whitethorn not beryllium good prepared to usage it successful the safest and astir effectual manner,” the study says.

This study by The Canadian Press was archetypal published Nov. 21, 2024.