Preparation saves lives

Their vessel capsized off the Wicklow coast on 15th April and the fishermen were saved thanks to the safety training they completed with BIM and the personal locator beacon built into their lifejackets.

The MFV ‘Lavicca’ lobster boat capsized in the Irish Sea at about 2.30pm and the men managed to board a life-raft. The personal locator beacons on the crew’s lifejackets were activated when the vessel sank, alerting the coastguard’s Marine Rescue Coordination Centre in Dublin.

The Rescue 116 helicopter, based at Dublin Airport, was sent to the location, east of Six Mile Point in Wicklow. The men were airlifted to Tallaght Hospital where they were treated for hypothermia before being discharged a short time later.

Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), the Irish Sea Fisheries Board, delivers vital safety training courses and grant-aid schemes for safety equipment to fishers around the country and Michael Keatinge, BIM’s Interim CEO, claims that this saved the lives of the three men.

"We are so glad that this incident had a good outcome as there are already far too many fatalities at sea, especially amongst the inshore fleet. This is a strong message to all fishers that safety training is so important. We provided safety training to these fishermen as part of our Enhanced Safety Scheme, which not only arms fishermen with the knowledge of what to do in an accident but it also provides grant-aid towards the new compact Personal Flotation Devices with an integrated personal locator beacon that alerts emergency services should there be no time to deliver a mayday call. The scheme has been extremely successful, with 1,000 fishers completing the training to date. I would urge any fishers who have not availed of this scheme to do so to ensure they stay safe at sea," he reflected.