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Troon Harbour |
THE four man crew of a Scottish fishing vessel were recounting their good fortune last night after their boat was involved in a potentially serious collision with a much larger cargo ship.
The Troon based Spes Bona V was off the Isle of Arran fishing for prawns when it was struck by the 2,500 ton MV Leeswig. The fishing boat sent out an emergency call and Clyde Coastguard alerted the local lifeboat which escorted the damaged Spes Bona V back to Troon. Fortunately no-one was injured, but the Leeswig did not stop and is proceeding to Spain where her captain and crew will almost certainly be question. Back in harbour last night the trawler crew admitted they were lucky to be alive.
Donald Gibson, who was on the bridge at the time, said his boat was hit on the port side, the strongest part of the vessel and he believed this probably saved them from a much worse fate. He also expressed surprise that the ship failed to stop afterwards. This is the recent second serious incident involving a UK fishing boat and a larger cargo ship. Just before Christmas a young West Country fisherman died when his boat was hit by a large merchantman in the English Channel.
There is real concern among UK fishermen about the growing number of cargo vessels using well known fishing grounds as regular routes and over the apparent careless attitude of some crews. It has also been a busy period for the Scottish rescue services. In the past two weeks one fishing vessel had to be rescued after taking on water off Aberdeenshire while another ran aground in Shetland.
Should fisheries be closed during breeding time to allow stocks to reach more sustainable levels?
