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On receiving the Mayday call, the Aberdeen Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre immediately tasked the coastguard rescue helicopter from Inverness and the RNLI Aberdeen lifeboat.
Using a VHF radio, the Arianna II skipper discussed the situation with the skipper of the nearest vessel, Neetha Dawn, a trawler that was 15 nautical miles south-east of the Arianna II. Neetha Dawn responded, along with two other fishing boats that were more distant.
Water continued to rise in the engine room and at 23.00 the electrical power failed when the auxiliary engine stopped, preventing further use of electric pumps. As the situation deteriorated, the crew donned immersion suits and life-jackets.
At 23.15 water had entered the main cabins and Arianna II was listing to starboard. The life-raft was launched and the crew abandoned the trawler, carrying the body of the deceased crewman. The Arianna II was observed to sink at 23.43, approximately 93 nautical miles (180 kilometres) east of Aberdeen (Latitude 56.94093° N, Longitude 0.867896° E) in 300 feet of water.
The Neetha Dawn spotted the life-raft at 00.16 and took the survivors on board. The coastguard rescue helicopter reached the scene fifteen minutes later. The injured skipper and engineer were winched from the deck of the trawler before being transferred to the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary .
The RNLI lifeboat, Bon Accord, from Aberdeen, rendezvoused with the Neetha Dawn at 03.15. The body of the deceased deckhand was transferred to the lifeboat. The remaining crewman chose to remain on board the Neetha Dawn for the voyage to St Claire.
I pause from reading. ‘Why isn’t anyone named?’
‘Marine accident investigations aren’t about apportioning blame,’ says Fishy. ‘Otherwise, witnesses might not cooperate.’
‘Do you know who was on board?’
‘The skipper was Angus Radford, Willie’s eldest boy. His two brothers were the crew, Finn and Cameron, along with their cousin, Iain Collie, who was the engineer. Angus suffered burns to his face and hands. Iain Collie had smoke-damaged pipes.’ Fishy taps his chest. ‘He died of throat cancer a few years back, which might have been unrelated, but he’d never been a smoker.’
‘What caused the fire?’
‘No way of knowing for certain,’ says Fishy.
‘Did they salvage her?’
‘She sank too deep.’
‘But they found the wreckage? They sent divers?’
‘Would have cost a fortune.’
He points to another section of the report.
Investigators could not inspect the machinery or hull of the Arianna II to determine an exact cause of the fire and explosion. However, observations by the crew during the accident provide some clues as to the source of the blaze. The deckhand who discovered the fire reported seeing flames in the vicinity of the generator, located on the port side aft in the engine room.
Over time a hose could have become worn from contact or loosened through vibrations, allowing fuel to leak into the engine room. Leaking fuel or fuel vapour may have come into contact with a hot surface, igniting the fire that subsequently triggered the explosion.
I finish reading and lean back from the table, glancing at Evie, asking an unspoken question. Does she remember any of this? She shakes her head.
‘What’s the range on a trawler like the Arianna?’ I ask.
Fishy does a quick calculation on a piece of paper, mumbling to himself about cruising speed, fuel capacity and distances. He shows me the figure.
‘Could it reach northern Spain?’ I ask.
‘It’s a fishing boat, not a pleasure cruiser.’
‘But could it get there and back?’
‘In theory.’
‘How long would it take?’
‘Four, maybe five days, but they were fishing Dogger Bank.’
‘How can you be sure?’
He shows me an attached map labelled Figure 1 in the report.
