A coroner has delivered his findings from an inquest into eight deaths after two vessels sank off Queensland, criticising authorities over safety alerts.

August 29, 2019

A coroner investigating the deaths of eight men after two trawlers capsized off Queensland has criticised authorities for failing to implement a safety feature to alert police when a boat vanishes.

Coroner David O’Connell says the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries should immediately implement the vessel monitoring system feature designed to send an SMS or email to police if a boat or ship fails to “poll” on the system, which may indicate it has sunk.

He said following a period of “bureaucratic obstruction in an attempt to defend” their position during the inquest, the department had conceded the VMS it sold to the fishing industry on the basis of its safety features could send the alerts.

“I cannot find any valid reason why it cannot be implemented,” Mr O’Connell said.

The inquest investigated the deaths of Matt Roberts, 61, and David Chivers, 36, who perished when the FV Cassandra overturned off Fraser Island in the early hours of April 4, 2016.

Wild seas prevented rescuers from reaching the two men, who were thought to have been in the cabin before the vessel went down.

The men were found to have drowned after the trawler capsized in wild seas while attempting to recover a net snagged on the seafloor.

Their bodies were never found.

Mr O’Connell also examined the deaths of six men on the FV Dianne, which rolled and sank off the Town of 1770 on October 16, 2017.

The Dianne’s sole survivor, Ruben McDornan, forced a door open against the rushing water and swam to the surface.

Adam Hoffman, 30, Eli Tonks, 39, Adam Bidner, 33, Zach Feeney, 28, Chris Sammut, 34, and Mr Leahy, 45, drowned.

Despite the men being “extremely fit and experienced” divers, none were able to escape the flooded cabin or reach safety equipment.

Two were trapped in the upturned hull, their escape blocked by a freezer that had broken free in the wheelhouse.

The cause of the capsize was left as an opening finding.

Mr Bidner’s mother had urged Mr O’Connell to recommend more safety measures for commercial fishing boats, including that Fisheries share the boat location data with police.

“Our boys deserved to be rescued, not recovered,” Kay Bidner said as the inquest wrapped up in Gladstone in March.

Mr O’Connell said there were a number of reasonable, practical, inexpensive safety measures that could improve the chances of survival for fishermen and divers at sea.

He recommended the industry be encouraged to place emergency grab bags – that might help crew escape a capsized vessel – near the helm and in the sleeping quarters.

He also recommended strip lighting and emergency exit signs to help disoriented crew, along with personal locator beacons and inflatable vests.

The industry should also be encouraged to use doors that will open against water pressure and to strap or bolt down bulky items in wheelhouses to prevent movement during a rollover, he said.

His strongest recommendation was for the department to implement the safety feature of its VMS.

In a statement, Fisheries Queensland said it already delivered a live feed of all vessel tracking units’ positions to Maritime Safety Queensland.

“It remains the government’s view that fishers should be primarily using the existing national search and rescue network, which is based on the emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) station satellite detection system,” a spokesman said.