THE first insight into what may have happened the day a father and son fishermen team died has been published by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB).

Gareth Willington, 59, and his son Daniel, 32, from Cresselly, fished off St Davids Head, out of Milford Haven, on 11.6 metre potter the Harvester.

The investigation into their deaths is one of three inquiries which has resulted in the MAIB to call for the introduction of legislation to make it compulsory to wear lifejackets on board commercial vessels.

Gareth was found without a lifejacket or other buoyancy aid and the MIAB says it is unlikely Daniel was wearing one, however his body has not been found.

The report states that the Harvester grounded on rocks in Abereiddi Bay at around 2.30pm, sinking a short time later.

A large-scale search and rescue operation was carried out and the body of Gareth Willington was recovered from the water three miles from where the boat had foundered.

The investigation concluded that both men probably went overboard while “shooting gear” – laying lobster pots – around Ramsey Island where they had recently begun to fish for lobster and crab, having previously fished grounds to the south of Milford Haven.

The Harvester had 12 fleets of pots, each approximately 1 mile long, containing between 50 and 60 pots.

The vessel was seen by others in the Ramsey area on the morning of April 28 and then from the shore near Abereiddi Bay at 12.45pm. There were no sightings of anyone on board.

The alarm was raised at around 2pm.

“Closed Circuit Television recording indicates that when Harvester sailed from Milford Haven neither Gareth nor Daniel was wearing a personal flotation device (PFD). When Gareth was recovered from the water following the accident he was not wearing a PFD. Evidence suggests that it was not the practice for Gareth and Daniel to wear a PFD when fishing,” states the report.

Investigators said it was likely that Gareth and Daniel went overboard in quick succession as the vessel remained in gear and no alarm was raised.

The report states: “A likely scenario is that Daniel, who would probably have been on deck, became entangled in the back rope as a fleet was being shot. Gareth could then have left the wheelhouse to assist Daniel, resulting in both men going overboard through the large opening in the transom.

“One of Harvester’s fleets of pots, recovered to the west of Ramsey Island, had a parted back rope. While it is unknown if Daniel or Gareth had access to a sharp knife, there is evidence to suggest that an attempt had been made to cut the rope to free one or both of them.”

Without lifejackets, water temperatures of 12 degrees, moderate to rough sea conditions, and no alarm raised, Gareth and Daniel’s “chances of survival were low”.

Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents Steve Clinch said: “The MAIB rarely recommends the introduction of new legislation to solve safety problems, but the rate that commercial fishermen are losing their lives due to drowning shows no sign of reducing. Indeed, this has been a particularly bad year: the MAIB has investigated the deaths of nine commercial fishermen, and today is publishing three reports covering the deaths of four. All four might well have survived had they been wearing a lifejacket when they entered the water.

“In order to prevent further unnecessary loss of commercial fishermen’s lives, I am therefore recommending today that the Maritime and Coastguard Agency moves quickly to introduce legislation making it compulsory for fishermen to wear personal flotation devices on the working decks of commercial fishing vessels while they are at sea.”