According to local information the trawler, Solway Harvester, went down in stormy seas off the Isle of Man in January 2000. In that mishap all the crew, from the village of the Isle of Whithorn, in Dumfries and Galloway, lost their lives. Coroner Michael Moyle said the reason for the boat sinking could not be pinpointed because of conflicting views from experts.
Moyle was highly critical of the boat’s owner, Richard Gidney, for acting “in his own self-interest” during the inquest. According to him, Gidney, who was acquitted of manslaughter in 2005, refused to attend the Isle of Man inquest as a witness on several occasions by giving “unconvincing excuses”. Upon Moyle’s Gidney was summoned to give evidence at Kirkcudbright Sheriff Court in June this year. Moyle said that some parts of Gidney’s evidence were unsatisfactory or inadequate.
Moyle explained that those evidences appear to him throughout that his first and real concern was his own self-interest, trying to protect himself from what he might perceive as suggestions of failings. The inquest heard that the trawler had experienced three flooding incidents in eight years. It is found that Solwat Harvester’s water level alarm was not working when the boat began its final trip. As a result, the boat’s skipper Craig Mills was not alerted that water was rising in the fish room during the storm.
