UK (22 Jan 2007) -- A Royal Marine who died on a dive at a fish farm after being hired by a friend would still be alive if proper safety measures had been in place, a sheriff ruled yesterday. Martin Blackley, 26, drowned after becoming entangled in a rope within a salmon cage in Loch Ewe, Wester Ross. His employer, Seahorse Aquaculture, and the fish-farm owner, Marine Harvest, have been criticised in a fatal accident inquiry judgment for not providing Mr Blackley with proper equipment and failing to supervise him adequately. Mr Blackley, of Aultbea in the Highlands, served with Arbroath-based 45 Commando. He was on sick leave with a leg injury when the accident happened in May 2002. Mr Blackley was unqualified - having previously dived only for scallops - when he was asked to help clear out a 16-metre deep fish pen by his friend, James Bell, the son of Seahorse Aquaculture's owner, Colin Bell. He also had no medical insurance. Sheriff Desmond Leslie, who heard evidence in a ten-day inquiry, described the diving operation in Aultbea by Seahorse Aquaculture as "casual and ill-fated". The inquiry heard that other members of the dive team became concerned when, after an hour, Mr Blackley had not emerged from the water. When a colleague went to investigate, he discovered that a sock rope had become tangled around Mr Blackley's neck. First aid was given and he was taken onshore, where he was pronounced dead. In his judgment, Mr Leslie said no risk assessment had been undertaken and there was no two-way communication system between staff. The inquiry at Dingwall Sheriff Court also heard there had also been no back-up oxygen and no diving plan. Mr Leslie said: "This project was ill-fated from its inception. The safe systems of work designed to prevent an occurrence of this nature were disregarded at every level of the operation. The approach taken was casual in the extreme. "Diving industry standards and procedures were ignored and no effort was made either on behalf of Marine Harvest or Seahorse Aquaculture to implement fundamental provisions, which, if adhered to, would have avoided Mr Blackley's death." Mr Blackley was bidding for a place in the British Olympic biathlon team at the time of his death. The inquiry was told Mr Blackley was wearing only a half-mask, whereas a full face mask is required for such dives. Peter Cook, the principal diving inspector in Scotland for the Health and Safety Executive, said Seahorse Aquaculture failed to have a suitable number on the dive team - namely a supervisor, diver, standby diver and tender. There were only three men doing the job, including James Bell, whose insurance certificate had expired. Mr Cook said parts of the scuba equipment, particularly the regulator for breathing, were also defective. | | Martin Blackley was on sick leave when he undertook fatal dive. The sheriff added: "It is the responsibility of the diving contractor to ensure that the diving project is properly and safely managed, that a risk assessment is carried out, that a suitable diving project plan is prepared ... that there are sufficient personnel to carry out a dive safely ... and that the team is medically fit to dive. Seahorse Aquaculture failed on each of these responsibilities." Following Mr Blackley's death, Seahorse Aquaculture took no further part in diving operations. After the tragedy, Colin Bell was fined £5,500 for failing to ensure the health, safety and welfare of an employee and for failing to insure employees against bodily injury. Speaking of Marine Harvest, the sheriff said: "The lack of management procedures, a casual or token regard for health and safety issues, no managerial rigour in enforcing recognised best practice and little on-site awareness or concern for health and safety issues all contributed to a blase approach to diving operations." A Marine Harvest spokesman last night said: "We deeply regret this tragic accident and our thoughts are with Martin's family." He added that all company diving procedures were reviewed immediately after the accident. Mr Blackley's mother, Jeanette, said: "The judgment tells us what we knew, that the death could have been avoided. There should have been no accident because there should have been no dive." SOURCE - ScotsmanSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba ForumCDNN Related NewsSCOTLAND - Safety lapses led to diver's death |
