HALIFAX — An investigation into how the Canadian Coast Guard responded to a Nova Scotia vessel in distress two years ago raises questions about why one fisherman died after a towing operation went awry.
In an investigation report released Thursday, the Transportation Safety Board says the fishing boat Mucktown Girl was returning to Canso, N.S., with five crew aboard on March 11, 2022, when it was disabled by electrical problems.After a seven-hour voyage, the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Jean Goodwill reached the drifting boat and attached a 300-metre tow line to the smaller vessel's bollard. But as the weather turned rough, the bollard broke off six hours into the recovery mission.
Minutes later, amid heavy rain and dense fog, the five fishermen donned immersion suits and jumped into a life raft. In response, the coast guard crew lowered a scramble net — a type of rope ladder — over the side of the 77-metre medium icebreaker. The father of two boys was pulled from the water five hours later by the crew aboard a Cormorant search and rescue helicopter, but he was later declared dead at a Cape Breton hospital.
But the report does not call for any changes, aside from updating the coast guard's towing waiver, which explains the responsibilities of those involved and the risks. The safety board's investigation found that the coast guard's search and rescue training typically involves the use of small, fast-rescue craft rather than larger vessels like the Jean Goodwill.
"Although scramble nets do not have specified restrictions for use, they are difficult to climb in rough conditions," the board says."They are also difficult to climb in an immersion suit, even in calm weather, and are not usable if a person is injured or incapacitated."
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