Katy from Conwy, North Wales

 

The fishing boat Katy left Conwy harbour, North Wales on 16 January 1994 and disappeared. Aboard were Robbo Hall aged 20, Cochyn Hughes aged 30 and Sam Rowlands-Roberts who was 22. Their bodies were never recovered.

Many other boats have been lost from Conwy including the Nicola Faith which sank close by in January 2021 with three men aboard. The bodies of Carl McGrath, Ross Ballantine and Alan Minard were found several weeks later. Brian "Bychan" Hughes was fishing alone in July 2015 when he and his boat disappeared.

Fishing boats sink for many reasons including bad weather, unpredictable sea conditions and human error.  But accidents are made more likely to happen when fishers are tired, working alone and when profit margins are tight due to high costs of fuel, insurance, maintenance and quota. In this situation safety features and training are not likely to be prioritised.

The government could choose to improve this situation and save lives by for instance, funding safety equipment and training, cheap insurance and apprenticeships for the next generation of fishers.