A British fishing company has been fined by the court after a 20-year-old trainee engineer died in the engine room of a fishing vessel. An investigation by the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found shortcomings in coordinating work carried out by multiple contractors in a cramped, confined space.
Incident
On 15 November 2019, the 20-year-old trainee engineer died in the engine room of the fishing vessel Resurgam, moored in Newlyn Harbour, Cornwall, United Kingdom. He was working there with three other people while an external company was installing a fire suppression system. During the work, the system unexpectedly activated, and the cramped, confined space filled with hot, toxic gases. The victim was overcome by carbon monoxide and could not escape in time; the engine room had only one way out, via a ladder and a hatch. Colleagues tried to rescue him but could not reach him. Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service eventually got him out of the space, but resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful.
Findings
HSE brought the case before Truro Crown Court, where owner and operator W. Stevenson & Sons Ltd pleaded guilty, on 15 October 2026, to two breaches of sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The court fined the company £100,000, plus £27,906 in costs. The investigation found that the company had not properly assessed the risk of multiple contractors working at the same time in the cramped engine room. There was no safe system of work for installing the fire suppression system, no effective emergency plan, and no permit-to-work system in place to coordinate the work of the different parties involved. An HSE inspector stressed that the company was not responsible for the unexpected activation of the system, but was responsible for the lack of coordination and for failing to plan in advance for a quick rescue and medical help in an emergency in the space.
Recommendations
The case shows that employers who have multiple contractors working at the same time in a confined space, such as an engine room, must assess this risk in advance and put in place a safe system of work. HSE highlights the importance of a written, coordinated plan, for example through a permit-to-work system, setting out responsibilities, shared risks and emergency procedures between all parties involved. It must also be arranged in advance how workers can be rescued quickly in an incident and gain access to medical help. HSE refers here to the Safety in Docks Approved Code of Practice (L148), which sets out how port operators, employers and contractors can meet their obligations under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 when multiple parties carry out work at the same location.
Context
Working in confined spaces remains one of the biggest occupational hazards aboard ships worldwide. Following a survey by InterManager, to which 5,000 seafarers responded, the Human Element Industry Group (HEIG) launched an inquiry into confined-space incidents in shipping. According to the initial findings, published in December 2021, such incidents persist, and existing procedures are often too complex and take too little account of the resources and time actually available on board. Commercial time pressure also plays a role, according to that research, as does limited training outside the tanker sector. That picture matches the Newlyn case, in which the lack of coordination between multiple parties and of an emergency plan was the central issue.
For HSE professionals worldwide, this case underlines that risks increase as soon as multiple contractors work in a confined space at the same time: each party may manage its own task with the greatest care, but without coordination, no one automatically keeps an eye on the overall picture. Whether it concerns an engine room on a fishing vessel, a tank in a refinery or a basement on a construction site: without a shared, written work and emergency plan, the risk of a fatal combination of circumstances remains, even when every contractor carries out its own work safely in isolation.
Source: Fishing fleet company fined following engine room fatality, HSE press release, 16 October 2026
Additional sources consulted: InterManager / Human Element Industry Group, initial findings on confined-space fatalities aboard ships (December 2021); HSE, Safety in Docks Approved Code of Practice (L148).
