Skipper jailed for neglect that lead to crewman’s death

Christopher Smith pled guilty to a contravention of section 58(2)(b) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 at Lerwick Sheriff Court on 13 September.

The court heard that on 25 March 2014, the fishing vessel Diamond sank after striking a rock in West Burra Firth in the Shetland Islands. Christopher Smith survived but the other crew member, John Scollay, died.

The ship was returning from a scallop dredging trip which had to be cut short due to both bad weather and problems with the engine when it clipped rocks on the west of the channel of West Burra Firth Voe.

The last communication from the ship was received by the coastguard at 2:52am when a call was received at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency Base at Lerwick.

The call stated:

“MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY DIAMOND LK6. JUST HIT ROCKS COMING INTO WEST BURRAFIRTH, I DON’T THINK WE ARE GOING TO MAKE IT TO THE PIER”

“60, 17, 90, -001, 33, 62W, RIGHT WE ARE GOING OVER”

It is believed that the Diamond may have strayed off course on the first leg of the approach or had failed to negotiate the turn toward the second leading light which led to the sinking.

Gary Aitken, head of the health and safety division at the Crown Office, said: “Christopher Smith’s failure to navigate his vessel properly lead to the death of John Scollay.

“This was an entirely avoidable tragedy which has left family and friends devastated at the loss of a loved one.

“This sad incident should serve as a reminder to vessel operators that they should ensure that they are familiar with and adhere to the appropriate navigation systems and that failure to do so can have tragic consequences.”