An inquest in Queensland into the deaths of two fishermen on a trawler that sank in rough seas has heard the vessel sank with its safety gear unused.

March 19, 2019

Lifesaving equipment aboard a prawn trawler that sank killing two Queensland fishermen three years ago was tangled in rigging and failed to deploy, an inquest has heard.

Skipper Matt Roberts, 61, and crewman David Chivers, 36, were trawling for prawns off Fraser Island when their boat, the FV Cassandra, overturned off Fraser Island early on April 4, 2016.

Huge swells prevented rescuers reaching the stricken vessel, which sank about 10 kilometres off the island’s northeastern tip at Waddy Point in 47 metres of water.

The two Bundaberg men’s bodies were never found and the vessel’s two emergency radio beacons were not activated.

How and why the men died is being explored by a coroner in Gladstone.

“In the case of the Cassandra the life vests can be clearly seen floating in the wheelhouse,” counsel assisting the coroner John Aberdeen said on Tuesday as he commentated an eerie silent video of the sunken vessel.

The fishing boat is too deep for divers to reach but an underwater video camera fitted to a remotely operated vehicle was used to explore the wreck.

“One can see a life ring still attached to the boat – they are of course supposed to float free from the vessel,” he said.

A life raft that is supposed to automatically deploy when the vessel reached a depth of four metres was also still attached to the boat, he said.

The vessel’s structural soundness, whether there was adequate safety equipment on board, and if the search and rescue operation was sufficient will also be explored by Coroner David O’Connell during the inquest.

Evidence on whether future deaths could be prevented by making it compulsory for fishermen to wear life jackets while working will be given experts.

Access to personal location beacons, “grab bags” containing diving masks and portable air tanks in an emergency will also be considered.

Similar issues will be explored next week when the inquest considers the deaths of six men on FV Dianne, which capsized off the coast of the Town of 1770 in October 2017.

The sole survivor, Ruben McDornan, clung to the hull, listening to the screams of his friends trapped inside, before it sank.

He spent the night treading water until a couple on a passing yacht heard his yells for help.

The bodies of two of his crewmates – 30-year-old Adam Hoffman and 45-year-old Ben Leahy – were later found by police divers.

The remaining fishermen – 39-year-old Eli Tonks, 33-year-old Adam Bidner, 28-year-old Zach Feeney and Chris Sammut, 34, – are presumed to have perished.