Crushed yacht worker ‘lucky to be alive’
Princess Yachts has been fined £600,000 after one of its workers suffered life-changing injuries from an incident at its Plymouth shipyard.
Mark Gillen sustained bleeds on the brain, 12 broken ribs and a severed right arm, when a one tonne staging platform fell on top of him. The 54-year-old, who had worked for the company for 26 years, was airlifted to hospital where he remained for several months.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the platform fell due to one of the front wheels hitting a divot in a concrete surface.
Mr Gillen had been working on a 72ft vessel as finished mouldings were being moved from the firm’s Southyard site to its Newport Street site for fit-out on 9 November 2021. HSE inspector Paul Mannell said: “Mark Gillen is lucky to be alive. The company should have had measures in place to ensure that mobile staging was never pushed through the yard by hand.”
Princess Yachts Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety At Work Act 1974 Section 2, was fined at Plymouth Magistrates’ Court and ordered to pay costs of £9,146
A company spokesperson said: “Princess Yachts very much regrets the incident on 9 November 2021 which led to serious injuries being sustained by Mark Gillen. We have fully supported Mark throughout his recovery and rehabilitation and will continue to do so. Through its guilty plea, the company acknowledged that this accident could and should have been prevented. It is a matter of great concern and regret that, on this occasion, Princess Yachts failed to meet its own high standards of health and safety management.”