SVANÖ – very serious marine causality in commercial fishing outside Tjörn

Summary in English

On Tuesday, 15 April 2025, the fishing vessel SVANÖ was out at sea, fishing for Norway lobster using creels. On board were a captain and a deckhand. During the deployment of the pots, the captain’s leg became entangled in a line that was part of the fishing equipment. The line was connected to the creels that had already been set in the sea. The captain was pulled overboard and drowned.
The investigation reveals several shortcomings in the systematic maritime safety work. The identified deficiencies include, among other things, the lack of protective devices to keep the fishing equipment separated from the crew during work on deck, that the deckhand had not received sufficient training and education to handle the vessel’s systems, and that the life jackets on board were not used.
If the captain had used the type of life jacket that was available on board, the chance of survival would have been relatively high.
At the systemic level, it is noted that the Swedish Transport Agency’s supervision has been inadequate.

Causes of the accident

The direct cause of the captain being pulled overboard and drowning was that he became caught in the fishing gear that was anchored while the fishing vessel was underway, and that he lacked personal flotation devices.
This, in turn, was due to shortcomings in the systematic maritime safety work, in which the risks associated with pot fishing on the vessel had not been identified and addressed. The deficiencies in the systematic maritime safety work that contributed to the accident were as follows:
• There was no protective device to keep the connecting line separated from the crew during work on deck.
• The crew did not wear personal flotation devices.
• The deckhand lacked sufficient education and training in the vessel’s navigation and propulsion systems.
At the systemic level, it is a deficiency that the Swedish Transport Agency’s supervision of fishing vessels subject to self-inspection requirements in the 5–15 metres segment is inadequate.

Safety recommendations

The Swedish Transport Agency is recommended to:
• examine which supervisory measures are most appropriate to achieve an acceptable level of maritime safety for fishing vessels subject to self-inspection requirements in the 5–15 metres segment, and, if necessary, to develop and adapt supervisory methods based on the results of this review, as well as to expand the supervision