The Safety of UK Fishing Vessels 1961–80

Abstract

Retrospective analysis of the Total Loss and Serious Casualty Rate (TL/SC Rate) for UK registered deep-sea and inshore fishing vessels over a twenty-year period (1961–80) revealed a gradual and sustained increase.The mean TL/SC rate for 1971–80 (6·041/1 000 vessels at risk) was almost 70 percent higher than the corresponding mean for the previous decade (3·79/1000 vessels at risk) and this difference was statistically significant (p< 0·05).Subsequent examination of vessel losses and casualties by cause indicate that 64 per cent of this detected increase was due to a concomitant increase in vessels lost or damaged due to foundering (particularly inshore vessels) and that the mean vessel age at loss from this cause was 24 years old. Synthesis of available evidence relating to the onset of this increase (1971); mean age at loss due to foundering (24 years); and the current age structure of the fleet, supports the hypothesis that the increase in founderings in the early 1970s may be explained partly by a cohort effect resulting from the uncontrolled fleet rebuilding programme almost a quarter of a century earlier in the immediate post-war period.Current combined risks of fishing vessel loss and casualty are about twice as great overall as those with which the Committee of Inquiry into Trawler Safety (1969) was concerned and over which it expressed deep concern.