Question 1

What is the single most common circumstance leading to man overboard fatalities on UK fishing vessels, according to MAIB pattern analysis?

Accepted Answer

A crew member working alone or unsupervised on an open, exposed deck while handling gear, often without a properly worn personal flotation device (PFD), with no one immediately aware they have gone over the side A recurring, well-documented pattern is a crew member lost overboard while working alone on deck during gear operations, frequently without a worn PFD, with the loss not noticed until much later — by which time search and rescue chances have fallen sharply. This is why lone working on open decks and PFD-wearing culture are repeatedly highlighted in fishing vessel safety guidance.

Question 2

Why is entanglement in warps, ropes, or winch machinery considered a particularly severe hazard on a fishing vessel compared to many other deck hazards?

Accepted Answer

Warps and gear-handling machinery operate under very high tension and can apply enormous, near-instantaneous force, capable of causing traumatic injury, dragging a person overboard, or pulling them into machinery before they can react The forces involved in towed or hauled fishing gear are far higher than most other shipboard rigging, and the speed at which a loop of rope or warp can tighten around a limb under load gives a crew member very little time to react — this combination of high force and short reaction window makes entanglement one of the most severe acute hazards on a working fishing deck.

Question 3

What basic control measure does good practice and the Code of Practice emphasise to reduce entanglement risk around an operating winch or gear-handling machinery?

Accepted Answer

Keeping the danger area around the winch/gear clear of unnecessary personnel, never standing within a coiled or running rope/warp, ensuring guards are in place, and having an emergency stop within immediate reach of the operator Positional discipline (staying out of the bight of a line, away from running gear) combined with functioning machine guards and an immediately accessible emergency stop are the core, low-cost controls that directly address the entanglement mechanism — experience alone does not remove the physical hazard.

Fishing Vessel — Deck & Gear Hazards Practice Questions