Safety training saves lives of three fishermen

Three fishermen whose vessel capsized off the Wicklow coast last week were saved due to safety training they had completed with the sea-fisheries developmenet agency, BIM, and the personal locator beacon built into their lifejackets which alerted the Irish Coast Guard to their plight.

Inflated PFD with integrated PLB attached

Alerted to the situation, Rescue 116 was tasked to the location roughly six nautical miles east of Six Mile Point in Wicklow. The men were airlifted to hospital but discharged a short while later.

BIM’s interim CEO, Michael Keatinge, said there was “no doubt” that safety training had saved their lives:

“We are so glad this incident had a good outcome as there are far too many fatalities at sea, especially among the inshore fleet. This is a strong message to all fishers that safety training is so important.”

BIM provides safety training as part of an Enhanced Safety Scheme, and provides grant-aid towards new, compact Personal Flotation Devices with in-built personal locator beacons.

“The schemee has been extremely successful with 1,000 fishers to-date having completed the training. I urge any fishers who have not availed on this scheme to do so.”  

Booking details: www.bim.ie