Maritime safety

In September 2014, port operator Clydeport was fined £650,000 for criminal safety failings, seven years after the deaths of three crewmen on board a tug that capsized on the River Clyde. The Flying Phantom rolled over in thick fog as it towed a bulk carrier on the river near Clydebank, killing Stephen Humphreys, Eric Blackley, and Robert Cameron in December 2007. Brian Aitchison was the only crew member to survive.

Clydeport admitted a criminal safety offence in failing to have prepared an adequate contingency plan in the event of fog while a large vessel was being towed. It also admitted failing to provide a safety management system. The tug’s owner, Svitzer Marine, was fined £1.7 million in November 2013.

Solicitors representing the victims’ families called for a Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) to commence immediately, but following the conclusion of separate criminal prosecutions against tug operator Svitzer Marine Ltd and Clydeport Operations Limited, the Crown Office announced that the decision not to call an FAI was reached after full consultation with the families of those who had died.