Crewman poisoned by carbon monoxide

Published on 14/06/2012 00:00

A CREWMAN who collapsed on a fishing boat and never regained consciousness was poisoned by carbon monoxide, a report into his death has found.

Artis Sterkis, 37, died in August last year after collapsing on the vessel Starlight Rays.

He and two other crew members were airlifted to hospital from the vessel which was on standby for the oil industry in the Devenick field, about 150 miles east of Aberdeen, but Mr Sterkis died.

The fisherman was trying to use a portable, petrol engine-driven pump to remove oily water from a compartment inside the boat’s fish hold. The hold did not have mechanical ventilation and high levels of carbon monoxide built up, a report by the Marine Accidents Investigations Branch found.