Inquest into the Death of Murray Allan TURNER and Mason Laurence CARTER and Chad Alan FAIRLEY
Deceased
Murray Allan TURNER and Mason Laurence CARTER and Chad Alan FAIRLEY
Demographics
male
Date of death
2015-07-11
Finding date
2018-02-28
Cause of death
immersion (drowning) for Murray Turner; unascertained but likely immersion for Chad Fairley and Mason Carter
AI-generated summary
Three men died when the fishing vessel Returner capsized in Nickol Bay, Western Australia on 11 July 2015. The vessel had undergone extensive modifications by owner Murray Turner (age 57) without proper stability assessment. Critical ballast was removed and heavy equipment added without disclosure to the surveyor. The DoT surveyor relied on owner representations rather than independent verification and failed to order mandatory stability testing despite visible major modifications. The modified vessel was 35% less stable than its original 1985 configuration and lacked reserve stability in the prevailing sea conditions. Delays in reporting the vessel's ALC failure meant search and rescue did not commence until 4 days after the sinking, eliminating chances of survival for deckhands Chad Fairley (29) and Mason Carter (26). Recommendations address vessel stability assessment, surveyor verification protocols, emergency vessel monitoring, and mandatory water-activated EPIRBs.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Specialties
Error types
Contributing factors
- vessel instability
- removal of ballast without disclosure
- extensive undisclosed modifications
- inadequate surveyor verification
- failure to conduct stability test
- weather and sea conditions
- delayed reporting to search and rescue
- failure to activate EPIRB
Coroner's recommendations
- AMSA should establish a transitional approach to ending grandfathering of safety standards for existing vessels, prioritising compliance with current standards regarding vessel operations and safety equipment
- AMSA should provide guidance to accredited surveyors to independently verify key information when assessing vessel stability given its critical importance to safe operation
- Fisheries should acknowledge the safety component of the VMS system and direct staff to contact Water Police within 4 hours if unable to contact a vessel following an ALC alert; Fisheries should also consider 24/7 monitoring of the VMS
- AMSA should mandate float-free EPIRBs that deploy automatically when immersed in water on both new and existing vessels where appropriate
- AMSA and Worksafe should promote the wearing of lifejackets on commercial fishing vessels while working
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