Criminal inquiry after fisherman's death at sea

The events that led to the death of a fisherman who fell into the North Sea while trying to save a crewmate is now the subject of a criminal investigation, officials have said.

Deckhand James Haughey, 24, went overboard while trying to help a crewmate on Weston Bay as they deployed fishing pots about 12 miles off Spurn Head.

Haughey was recovered by another vessel 40 minutes after entering the water, but could not be resuscitated, according to a Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) report published on Thursday.

The other deckhand involved in the incident, which happened at about 08:20 BST on 22 May 2024, entered the water first. He survived after being recovered by their crewmates.

The MAIB report into the incident, published on Thursday, described Haughey as a "competent swimmer", adding that he had worked as a fisherman for five years.

A postmortem report recorded his cause of death as "immersion in water".

The report highlighted that the crew did not regularly carry out man overboard drills and were unfamiliar with the vessel's recovery equipment and "unprepared to rescue a casualty".

In a statement, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said: "The circumstances are subject to criminal investigation by the MCA's Regulatory Compliance Investigations Team.

"Our thoughts remain with the loved ones of the deckhand who tragically lost his life."

The vessel's operator, Grimsby-based Fastline Shellfish Ltd, was contacted for a comment following the MAIB's report.

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