Today, we have issued a safety bulletin following the engine room flooding and foundering of the stern trawler Piedras (FD 528) led to the failure of a liferaft to inflate. A second liferaft was successfully launched and the crew were rescued.
Both liferafts exhibited deficiencies that raised servicing and certification concerns and are likely to have contributed to the failure. Recommendations have been made to ensure all owners and operators of DSB liferafts serviced by Comfer Marin SL, Spain between Jan 2017 and June 2022 contact their nearest approved Survitec liferaft service station.
The causes and circumstances of the flooding and foundering of the fishing vessel Piedras will be published in an investigation report in due course.
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