A BANFF based fishing company has implemented new safety procedures around machinery on the fishing vessel Reliance III (BF800) after a crew member lost an arm during an inspection.

One of the measures included fitting an emergency stop button to an ice generator.

The Reliance Fishing Company also reviewed and reinforced crew training on ice generator inspections following the accident in the early hours of 17 October.

The Shetland based search and rescue helicopter was called to the accident on board the 20 metre long vessel 46 miles southeast of Sumburgh and airlifted the injured man to the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

The severed arm could not be reattached.

A preliminary assessment by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), published on Thursday, found that in the light of the actions already taken by the fishing company there was no need for a full investigation.

The MAIB report details how the crewman was alone on watch during trawling operations at 5am when he noticed that the ice generator was not functioning as normal.

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He left the wheelhouse and went to the ice machine room to investigate.

While checking the machine, the crew member accidentally dropped an inspection hatch cover into the ice generator’s drum.

As he reached into the drum to retrieve the inspection hatch cover, his right arm became trapped in the ice generator’s rotating reamer, only releasing the trapped crew member when their lower right arm was severed.

The report continued: “The injured crew member switched off the electrical supply to the ice generator, then went to the foredeck and called the skipper via mobile phone before activating the general alarm in the wheelhouse.

“The skipper went to the wheelhouse and administered immediate first aid, using strips of towel to apply a tourniquet to the crew member’s arm.”

Shetland coastguard was alerted and the search and rescue helicopter was scrambled. A paramedic was winched onto the Reliance III at 6am.

Meanwhile, the skipper restarted the ice generator to rotate the reamer and free the crew member’s severed limb, which was then packed in ice and given to the paramedic.

In their finding the MAIB highlighted that the ice generator was not switched off either before the inspection hatch cover was removed or after the inspection hatch cover had fallen into the drum.

The machine was not electrically isolated before attempting to retrieve the cover, which was found in the bottom of the drum post-accident.

There were also no interlocks on the inspection covers to stop the ice generator if a cover was removed while the machine was running.

The MAIB commended the skipper for his initiative in applying a tourniquet and coordinating the casualty’s evacuation but added that “the retrieval of the severed arm involved restarting hazardous machinery and introduced further risk”.

Shetland News