Commercial fishing is currently the UK’s the most dangerous industry, and fishermen and women are around 110 times more likely to meet with a fatal accident at work compared to the average employee.
While many recognise the dangers, it is not always obvious what the major problems are, and how they should be overcome. Hook Marine carried out a detailed examination of accident records, such as those produced by the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch and by the US Coast Guard. From these statistics, it can be seen that the major cause of flooding, capsizing, and foundering is insufficient stability.
The stability of a vessel is often defined as the ability of the boat to return to an upright position after being displaced by wind or waves. Stability at sea is largely dependent on any movement in the centre of gravity of the vessel, and this can be influenced by consumption of fuel and water from tanks as well as abnormal conditions such as load shift, water ingress, icing on the superstructure and overloading. Overloading is often caused by unapproved alterations to the vessel, such as the addition of gantries, winches and cranes.
Ayrshire Chamber member Hook Marine has developed a real-time stability monitor, trade name SeaWise®. The device is intended to give the crew early warning of declining stability reserves by providing an accurate measure of the rolling period at sea which is readily related to the stability of the vessel. Installation and calibration of a SeaWise® unit is carried out on board in less than 30 minutes. It is equally suitable for new or existing vessels.
Support for the development was obtained from Lloyd’s Register Foundation, Trinity House, Seafish, and Scottish Enterprise.
Hook Marine looks forward to hearing from anyone sharing their commitment to safety.
www.hookmarine.com
