The Marine Accident Investigation Branch has published its findings on a fishing boat that capsized off Exmouth.

Fishing vessel Angelena (BM271) 'capsized and sank' just off Exmouth, England on June 18 2021

The boat sank eight nautical miles southeast of Exmouth while its fishing gear was being recovered by the lone skipper.

The end of the net was full of sand, mud and fish and, once lifted clear of the water, the net swung to away from the vessel’s side and Angelena capsized.

The report says: "The skipper did not have time to raise the alarm before entering the water. The skipper was wearing a lifejacket fitted with a personal locator beacon and managed to swim to the vessel’s liferaft, which had floated free.

"The skipper activated the personal locator beacon once in the liferaft and was rescued unharmed by a nearby vessel.

"The key safety issues identified were the Angelena was not required to meet any stability standard. Consequently, the skipper did not understand the stability performance of their own vessel.

"By operating the fishing vessel alone, the skipper could not maintain a safe navigational watch, operate the fishing gear and deal with any difficult situations.

"The liferaft was not secured such that it could automatically float free, inflate and break free."

The safety recommendations were the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) should provide stability training before issuing certificates of competency.

The MCA has also been recommended to specify minimum safe crewing for the conduct of fishing operations on a vessel’s Fishing Vessel Certificate, and to align float-free definitions across its publications and regulations.

The owner and skipper of Angelena has been recommended to complete the Seafish Advanced Stability Awareness course.