An investigation into the sinking of a boat which killed three fishermen has found the vessel was overloaded with whelks and fishing gear.
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has published its report into the foundering of the Nicola Faith near the coast of Colwyn Bay. Its crew Carl McGrath, 34, Ross Ballantine, 39, and Alan Minard, 20, were on board when the boat vanished on January 27 last year. Their bodies were found in March 2021 off the coast of the Wirral.
The report has found that the whelk potter vessel had been "extensively modified" and this had "significantly reduced its margin of positive stability" before it sank just under two miles north of Rhos-on-Sea. The MAIB wrote: "On the day of the accident the Nicola Faith had been loaded with catch and retrieved strings of pots to the point of instability, which resulted in the capsize and subsequently sinking of the vessel."
