ANA LÍDIA - Very Serious Maritime Casualty
Vessel: ANA LÍDIA
GAMA reference: 2013-055
Data da ocorrência acidental: 27-04-2013
Circulated on: 20-03-2015
Published on: 23-04-2015
Casualty Event: Capsizing
Summary
At approximately 0800 on 27 April 2013, the local fishing vessel ANA LÍDIA was found capsized near Ponta Grossa, off Moledo and south of the entrance to the River Minho. The vessel had been operating with one person aboard. The Maritime Authority and MRCC Lisbon coordinated a search and rescue operation involving Portuguese and Spanish maritime, air and shore resources. The missing person was recovered from the sea off Aveiro on 8 May 2013 by a general cargo vessel. ANA LÍDIA sustained minor damage. There were no eyewitnesses to the capsizing, and the precise cause could not be established.
Safety recommendations
No safety recommendations were issued because of the evidential limitations identified during the investigation.
Lessons learned
Small local fishing vessels are particularly vulnerable to breaking seas and rapidly changing conditions near harbour entrances and coastal shallows. Voyage and fishing decisions should take account of vessel size, swell direction and height, tidal state and the additional risk associated with single-person operation. Wearing an approved lifejacket remains essential but does not remove the need to avoid conditions beyond the vessel’s safe operating capability.