An inquest in Gladstone investigating the deaths of eight fishermen from two trawlers that sank in rough seas off the Queensland coast will resume.

March 25, 2019

The sole survivor of a fishing boat that rolled in treacherous conditions off the Queensland coast killing six men could hear his mates trapped inside as he clung to the hull in the darkness.

But there was little Ruben McDornan could do to help Adam Hoffman, 30, and skipper Ben Leahy, 45, after the FV Dianne capsized off the coast of the town of 1770 on October 16, 2017.

The men’s escape route from the sea cucumber trawler’s cabin was blocked by an unsecured refrigerator when the vessel rolled about 7.30pm.

Their bodies were later found by police divers in the sunken boat but fisherman Eli Tonks, 39, Adam Bidner, 33, Zach Feeney, 28, and Chris Sammut, 34, disappeared.

They are presumed drowned.

Exhausted, injured and wearing only a pair of boardshorts, Mr McDornan spent hours treading water after the vessel slipped below the surface.

He was eventually saved by a couple on a passing yacht who heard his yells for help.

On Tuesday, Mr McDornan is expected to be the first witness when an inquest into the sinking of the FV Dianne and FV Cassandra resumes in Gladstone.

Coroner David O’Connell will explore whether the vessel was structurally sound, if there was adequate safety equipment on board and if the search and rescue operation was sufficient.

Experts will also give evidence about whether future deaths could be prevented by making it compulsory for fishermen to wear life jackets while working.

On board access to personal location beacons, ‘grab bags’ containing diving masks and portable air tanks in an emergency will also be considered.

In its last sitting, the hearing investigated the sinking of prawn trawler Cassandra, which capsized in April 2016 with the loss of its two crew.

The bodies of skipper Matt Roberts, 61, and crewman David Chivers, 36, have never been found and the boat remains 47 metres below the surface off the northern tip of Fraser Island.

Experts told the court last week it was likely the 45-tonne vessel rolled while the crew was attempting to salvage one of the boat’s nets, which had snagged on the sea floor.

Former manager Dennis Markwell said with a cost of $12000 each, skipper Mathew Roberts would have been reluctant to cut the net free.

Even if they had wanted to it would have been a tough task in the emergency situation confronting the crew.

There were bolt cutters on board but the thick steel cable really needed an angle grinder, he said.

The Cassandra had all the required safety equipment, counsel assisting the coroner John Aberdeen said, but none of it had worked when it was needed.

The boat’s two emergency beacons didn’t activate and both life rafts remain attached to the boat, despite being designed to deploy automatically if the boat capsized.

No one had time to even hit the emergency button, he said.