SPECIAL memorial service has been held to mark the tenth anniversary of the Scottish scallop dredger Solway Harvester which sank with the loss of her seven crew members.
The Kirkcudbright scallop dredger sank off the Isle of Man on January 11th 2000 in a heavy gale with her entire crew in what has been described as one of the worst UK fishing tragedies of the last decade
In a moving ecumenical service at St Ninian's Priory in Whithorn on Sunday evening, the Rev Alex Currie said the event was intended to be a low-key commemoration of the lives of the young men from the area who died in the tragedy. They were all from the Dumfries and Galloway area. Family members of the crew also took part in the service.
The victims were skipper Craig (Andrew) Mills, aged 29, his brother Robin Mills, 33, their cousin David Mills, 17, Martin Milligan, 26, John Murphy, 22, David Lyons, 18, and Wesley Jolly, who was just 17 at the time.
The Solway Harvester had left Kirkcudbright just 24 hours before the gale struck, heading towards the scallop grounds in the Irish Sea. Despite attempts to find shelter around the Isle of Man Coast the vessel foundered in heavy seas. Later the Manx Government ordered the bodies to be recovered as a humanitarian gesture even though the operation cost more than £750,000.
Five years ago the vessel's owner, Richard Gidney, was acquitted of manslaughter charges after a judge ruled there was no case to answer and in 2008 a coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death on those who died.
Should people be 'stimulated' to eat white fish alternatives to cod?
