A Scots fisherman who had more than 40 years of experience died after getting caught in fishing gear and dragged overboard, a probe into his death has found. Peter Gray was alone on his creel boat, Saint Peter, catching crab and lobster when the accident occurred on May 2, 2021, near Torness Point, Dunbar.
Peter, 63, was accidentally pulled overboard by his ankle when trying to free tangled creels at some point between 8.30am and 10.30am, marine investigators found. The skipper was unable to reboard his vessel and spent up to 10 hours in the water, suffering a fatal heart attack at some point.
A massive search was launched when his boat was found unmanned after family became concerned that he was late coming home. Lifeboats and helicopters were called to the area as well as other fisherman in the community who rallied round to join in the search.
Sadly he was found unresponsive floating on his back water by the Coastguard at around 6pm. He was flown to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh but was pronounced deceased at 6.35pm. His death shocked the close knit community as Peter was a longstanding and well respected fisherman in Dunbar.
A Fatal Accident Inquiry has now found that Peter's death may have been prevented if a boarding ladder would have been rigged to the boat to make easier for him to get out of the water. Or if he was wearing a personal locator beacon, so resuce services could have found him quicker.
The ruling stated: "Mr Gray was on the deck of Saint Peter attending to a tangle of creels. He became caught in a bight of rope as the creels released into the sea. It tightened around his right ankle and caused him to be dragged overboard through the shooting gate.
“There were no eyewitnesses to this accident, but it is highly probable that Saint Peter’s skipper became caught in his fishing gear during shooting while trying to untangle a string of creels and was pulled overboard into the water. He was unable to reboard his vessel and, at an indeterminate time after the accident, suffered a fatal heart attack.
"Once the skipper was in the water, his only option to self-rescue was to swim back to Saint Peter against the wind and current and then attempt to reboard by pulling himself through the shooting gate using the float line. This would have been very difficult while wearing saturated clothing that included boots and gloves, and while suffering from the effects of cold water shock.
"Had he been able to swim back to Saint Peter, the rigging of a boarding ladder, as recommended in industry guidance, would have improved his chances of successfully reboarding.”
Marine Accident Investigation Branch also said that the boat's deck was "cluttered", making it difficult to stay around moving gear and an alternative deck layout could have kept the skipper clear of the running the rope.
Peter had served in the Merchant Navy for about five years in his early career, before returning to settle in Cove, East Lothian, where he also served as a volunteer coastguard. He built his vessel in 1993.
On May 2, he head out to the harbour at around 6am and a nearby crew observed him on the desk around 8am. Charts show his vessel moved but stopped at 8.30am. From about 10.30am some of Peter's family and friends tried to contact him but his phone went under answered.
Peter's Personal Flotation Device inflated when he entered the water. The sea temperatures was cold at 8C on May 2 and temperatures that low can result in water shock, with survival time just one hour.
Between 2 and 3pm, Peter's nephew, Declan McSporran, was driving back from Edinburgh when he noticed his uncle’s boat out on the water. He found that strange knowing Peter would normally be home by 12pm so he phoned Peter's wife. The pair then reached out for assistance from other fisherman who couldn't see Peter on his boat or in the water and a mayday call was reported.
Sheriff Donald Corke said: "The court joins with the Crown in extending sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mr Gray. Mr McSporran, Mr Barnard and the rescue services all acted commendably and it is unfortunate that Mr Gray could not be saved."
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here .
