12 March

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has published a report into the investigation of the collision between scallop dredging boat Vertrouwen and motor cruiser James 2.

The vessels collided in Sussex Bay, 1.6 miles south-east of Shoreham harbour at 00.26 on 6 August 2017. Three men lost their lives.

James 2 sank when it collided with Vertrouwen. Four men on board James 2 were rod fishing for mackerel, whilst Vertrouwen had just left port and was on passage to Grimsby.
Three of the men on board the motor cruiser drowned.

The casualties were named as Romanian nationals Traiam Dumitrache, 50, from London and 40-year-old Mircea Ilie and Irinel Popovici, 41, from Brighton.

A fourth man, the sole survivor, was pulled from the sea by the crew of a fishing boat after he clung to a buoy for several hours.

The MAIB found that collision happened because Vertrouwen’s lone watchkeeper did not see James 2. When the fishermen realised the danger, they did not have enough time to manoeuvre James 2 clear of the approaching fishing boat.

The report found that three anglers drowned because they were not wearing life jackets or buoyancy aids, were unable to raise an alarm and had not had adequate training.
The investigation found that neither boat was keeping a proper lookout: Vertrouwen’s watchkeeper was using his mobile phone and working on a laptop whilst the sea anglers on board James 2 were focusing on fishing just before the two vessels collided.

MAIB found that James 2 had not been sufficiently prepared or equipped to go to sea. The motor cruiser had inadequate freeboard, its navigation lights did not meet the standards required, and basic safety equipment was either not carried or not worn. The report said that if the sea anglers had been able to raise the alarm and been wearing life jackets or buoyancy aids, all four of them would almost certainly have survived. Recommendations aimed at improving standards of watchkeeping have been made to Vertrouwen’s owners, Macduff Shellfish (Scotland) Ltd. In addition, the Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents has written to the editors of major sea angling publications, asking them to highlight the safety lessons from this report to their readers.

 

 

16 August

Sussex Police have confirmed that two bodies recovered from the sea off Shoreham on Monday ( 14 August) are those of two missing fishermen whose boat sank off Shoreham.

They have been named as 40-year-old Mircea Ilie and Irinel Popovici, aged 41. Both of the men lived in Brighton.

They had gone out fishing with 50-year-old Traiam Dumitrache from London, and another man in the early hours of the 6 August when their five metre boat was in collision with another vessel at around 12.30am and sank.

No Mayday was issued.

The UK Coastguard only became aware of the incident when a man was found clinging to a fishing buoy by a commercial fishermen, more than six hours after the sinking.

Just after 8am, the body of Dumitrache was recovered and brought ashore by the crew of Coastguard helicopter. The search continued for Ilie and Popovici before it was called off later that afternoon.

Continued below…

Sussex Police and marine accident investigators have named the boat believed to be involved in the Shoreham boat sinking.

The vessel, the scallop dredging boat, Vertrouwen, left Shoreham around the time of the incident bound for Grimsby.

Police are in touch with the owners, MacDuff Shellfish Ltd, who are co-operating fully with the investigation.

11 August

Sussex Police have publicly identified a scallop dredging boat, Vertrouwen, as the vessel believed to be involved in the Shoreham boat sinking, which has left one man dead and two others still missing.

The incident happened last Sunday morning (6 August). The four men were on a fishing trip when their five metre boat was in collision with another vessel at around 12.30am.

The boat sank in the English Channel. No Mayday was issued and the UK Coastguard was not contacted.

The alarm was only raised when one of the men was found clinging to a fishing buoy by a commercial fishermen, more than five hours after the sinking.

Another man’s body was recovered by an HM Coastguard helicopter, while the emergency services searched for the other two people on board. The search was called off later that evening.

Sussex Police said the scallop dredging boat, Vertrouwen left Shoreham around the time of the incident bound for Grimsby.

Officers are now in touch with the owners, MacDuff Shellfish Ltd, who are co-operating fully with the investigation.

Police have also formally named the man, whose body was recovered from the sea.

He is  50-year-old Traiam Dumitrache, a Romanian national from London.

 

07 August

An investigation is underway after a fatal incident in the English Channel off Shoreham yesterday morning (6 August) which has left one man dead.

Two men remain missing while a fourth man was pulled from the sea by the crew of a fishing boat after he clung to a buoy for several hours.

The 45-year-old remains in a stable condition in hospital under observation.

Sussex Police said the men, two of whom are related, are all Romanian nationals; two are from Brighton and two, including the survivor, are from London.

The men all left Shoreham Harbour shortly after midnight on Sunday for a fishing trip on board a five-metre boat.

According to the survivor, the boat was hit by a larger vessel and sank at around 2am. It is unclear as to why they didn’t contact the UK Coastguard or issue a Mayday.

He was rescued around two miles from Shoreham Harbour just before 6am and transferred to the Shoreham RNLI Lifeboat.

A major search was subsequently launched by HM Coastguard supported by Sussex Police.

Coastguard search and rescue helicopters from Lydd and Lee-on-Solent, together with Coastguard Rescue Teams from Shoreham and Littlehampton and RNLI lifeboats from Shoreham and Brighton plus several other local vessels were all been involved in the search.

Police officers also searched beaches between Brighton and Worthing.

The body of a man was recovered from the sea and brought ashore by Coastguard helicopter around 8.15am.

The search was suspended by late afternoon.

A controller with the UK Coastguard, Andy Jenkins, commented: “Following an extensive search of the area using multiple assets nothing further has been found at this time so the decision has been made to suspend the search pending further information.”

“A review of the incident details will be ongoing through the rest of the day,” he added.

Detective Chief Inspector Rachel Carr said: “Sussex Police are undertaking a joint investigation with the Maritime Accident Investigation Branch. We are now trying to establish the circumstances and to identify the other vessel involved.”

“An earlier appeal for information prompted a significant number of calls and I would like to thank people for their prompt responses, which enabled us to quickly identify who had been involved.”

“Our thoughts are with the families and friends of all those who have been involved in this tragic incident,” she added.

Police are appealing for anyone with information about the incident or the boat involved to call 101 quoting Operation Barnet.