The recent case of the man who went fishing in his 13-foot boat and got lost in a blanket of fog for two nights has highlighted the need to inculcate greater awareness among fishermen and other part-time boat-users of the need to observe the basic requirements for ensuring safety at sea.
The amateur fisherman in question headed out from St Thomas’ Bay in Marsascala towards Hurd’s Bank, some 10 nautical miles to the northeast of Malta, and ended up two-thirds of the way to Sicily, where he was finally found after a wide-sweeping (and costly) search and rescue operation by the Armed Forces of Malta.
The fisherman, it transpired, had left Malta without carrying any safety equipment on board his boat.
Without casting aspersions on the particular fisherman concerned, this incident does appear to bring home, as a broad generalisation, the casual approach that we appear to adopt towards health and safety matters – whether it is on land on construction sites (cranes, lifts) or at sea.
The heart of the problem may lie in a lack of imagination about the possible consequences of our actions, of familiarity breeding complacency, together with an ignorance of the basic drills required to ensure a safe environment, especially in the deceptively calm waters of the Mediterranean.
But the reality is that information on the need to observe certain basic rules at sea is not in short supply.
As the chief officer of the Ports and Yachting Directorate at Transport Malta pointed out, apart from “notices to mariners” issued regularly in the Government Gazette and included on the Department of Information and Transport Malta websites, the internet is bursting with information about achieving and maintaining safety at sea. Transport Malta also broadcasts weather forecasts every four hours (including, presumably, fog warnings) and other information.
Each year, Transport Malta embarks on annual safety at sea campaigns to remind people of the precautions to be observed and the risks involved, which a boat owner should take into account before embarking on a journey out at sea.
Its Mariners’ Guide leaflet recommends a list of basic equipment that boat owners should carry, such as waterproof first aid kits, fire extinguishers, GPS, a life raft or dinghy and, of course, life jackets.
On the face of it, therefore, there is no excuse why a fisherman should get himself into difficulties if he follows the rules.
Following the incident, some excellent advice was given by the president of the National Fisheries Cooperative and by the lawyer who carried out the inquiry into the Simshar tragedy four years ago (when a fishing boat exploded at sea, leading to the death of four people) among others on the basic steps fishermen or other boat owners should take to ensure safety at sea.
Without attempting to draw up a comprehensive checklist, the focus of their advice was on the paramount need to prepare carefully for any sea voyage, even the most simple and apparently straightforward fishing expedition. Make sure there is the right equipment on board: compass, GPS, satellite phone or VHF radio, a spare engine in small boats, a radar in larger boats, enough water and rations including a reserve, a personal location beacon, waterproof and warm clothing.
There is no shortage of advice on what fishermen and other boat owners should do to ensure their own safety.
Perhaps the time has come for the law to lay down some minimum requirements, though responsibility ultimately rests with the prudent behaviour of the individual boat owner.