FFAW/CAW President Earle McCurdy has announced that the organization has challenged the conclusion of the federal Transportation Safety Board that there is “the absence of a safety culture” in the Newfoundland and Labrador fishery. He told that TSB spend too much time blaming fish harvesters and not enough time looking at the response system in place when marine emergencies arise. He added that TSB need to examine their own safety culture.
McCurdy also told that the most recent TSB report into the tragic sinking of the Lannie & Sisters II once again talks about the so-called “lack of a safety culture”, a refrain that has been repeated in many government reports over the years. Record shows that in the past five years, 10,000 harvesters in Newfoundland and Labrador have completed marine safety courses.
McCurdy explained that the professional conduct of the skipper and crew of the Nautical Legacy, in which all hands survived a dramatic fire aboard the vessel as a direct result of their professional commitment to a safety culture. He told that Transport Canada has such a shortage of inspectors, it takes years for vessel owners to get their stability booklets, even after an inspection is finally done on their vessel.
