Skipper Faces Jail over Safety Failings

THE skipper of a fishing boat who jumped into the Firth of Forth in a vain bid to save a diver from drowning was today facing jail over the tragedy.

Ronald MacNeil, 55, failed to ensure that there was a standby frogman poised to help when Graeme Mackie, 31, entered the Firth of Forth 600 metres off Methil Harbour, Fife.

The father-of-one, from Tranent, East Lothian, got into difficulties and resurfaced in distress before sinking unconscious to the river bed.

He was eventually recovered and airlifted to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, where he was pronounced dead at half past four the same day.

The incident occurred on June 11th, 2011.

MacNeil, of Leven, Fife, master of the "Rob Roy" based at Methil Docks, Fife, had been due to face trial at Dunfermline Sheriff Court accused of being responsible for a series of health and safety failings that led to the tragedy.

However, Loiuse Beattie, prosecuting, accepted a plea to single failing -- not having a standby diver who could have gone to Mr Mackie's aid in an emergency, in consequence of which Mr Mackie drowned.

She said it was "a serious breach".

The court was told the Rob Roy had been involved in electro-fishing, a practice where a generator on the ship sends charges to electrodes trailed on to the bed, shocking shellfish to rise to the surface of the sandy bottom, where they could be collected.

However, the depute fiscal said there was no evidence this was a factor in Mr Mackie's death, which was caused by drowning.

The court heard that Mr Mackie had previously been employed as a welder and had undertaken "an intensive underwater dive course".

Ms Beattie, specialist health and safety prosecutor at the Crown Office, said that Mr Mackie's ambition was to eventually become an underwater welder, and that he had advertised himself as a trainee shellfish diver online, prompting MacNeil, a fisherman with many years' experience, to get in touch.

She said: "On the morning of the dive, Mr Mackie woke his partner up to say goodbye.

"His partner was nervous but excited for him.

"Mr Mackie considered the dive as 'getting a start'."

The depute fiscal said both Mr Mackie's father and brother were not aware that he had any previous commercial diving experience.

On the day of the fatality, Miss Beattie said that Mr Mackie entered the water at twenty-four minutes past two.

She said: "All of Mr Mackie's dive training involved scuba diving.

"He was connected to the surface by an umbilical line.

"He was wearing his own dry-suit.

"There was no stand-by diver on the boat."

She said that MacNeil had checked Mr Mackie's diving equipment and was satisfied everything was fine before allowing him into the water.

In order to know when to start the electrodes for electro-fishing, it was decided that Mr Mackie would remove his mouth piece and the surfacing of the bubbles would indicate he was ready to start fishing, the court heard.

After entering the water, Mr Mackie re-surfaced about "10 to 15 seconds later in distress".

Ms Beattie said: "He was shouting for help.

"The accused shouted to him to drop his weights.

"The accused entered the water and swam towards the last sighting of Mr Mackie but was unable to locate him."

A short while afterwards, rescue divers were called to the scene and managed to locate the deceased.

He was "lying on his back, on the riverbed and the mouth piece was not in his mouth", the court heard.

Miss Beattie added that a dive computer had calculated that from the time Mr Mackie had entered the water to the time he was discovered, was 24 minutes.

Sheriff Craig McSherry deferred sentence until July 29 for criminal justice social work reports.

MacNeil could be jailed for a maximum of two years under health and safety and diving and work regulations.

MacNeil is the second boatman in four months to be convicted over safety failings surrounding the death of a diver while electro-fishing for shellfish in the Firth of Forth.

Guthrie Melville, 60, owner of the 26-foot "Solstice", was found guilty at Stirling Sheriff Court in February of contravening a battery of health and safety regulations over the fate of father-of-two James Irvine, 42, who died after getting into difficulties in Largo Bay, Fife, on March 24th 2011, while harvesting razor clams.

The Solstice was also based at Methil Docks.

Melville was jailed for nine months in March, and Mr Irvine's wife Hazel, also 42, called for sentences in such cases to be made comparable with culpable homicide.

A spokesperson for Mr Mackie's family said after today's case: "We note the plea which is an admission, finally, of guilt and responsibility for what happened.

"This is a difficult and emotional time for all of us and we ask that our privacy be respected at this stage."