THE skipper of a fishing boat is to face trial, accused of a catalogue of blunders which are alleged to have led to a diver drowning while fishing for scallops.
Ronald MacNeil, captain of the vessel "Rob Roy", denies a series of failures which allegedly led to the death of diver Graeme Mackie in June 2011.
Mr Mackie, a father-of-one from Tranent, Fife, lost his life during a scallop-fishing expedition in the Firth of Forth.
Mr MacNeil, 55, faces a string of charges alleging he failed to provide proper training, supervision and adequate safety equipment in the run-up to the tragedy, on June 13 2011.
The indictment alleges that as "the master of the Rob Roy" and the person in charge of the fishing trip, he failed to ensure that Mr Mackie was "suitably trained and competent" to dive on the trip.
It claims he did not ensure that a standby diver was in place to give any necessary help to Mr Mackie while he was working.
It adds that there was no equipment for monitoring the diver.
It is also alleged that the skipper failed "to provide equipment which could have assisted in the recovery of Mr Mackie from the water onto the vessel, while he was working, in the event of an emergency and in consequence, Graeme Mackie, whilst working as a diver on the project entered the water, resurfaced in distress and thereafter failed to resurface whereby he drowned".
At a pre-trial review at Falkirk Sheriff Court, Mr MacNeil, of Somerville Road, Leven, Fife, pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Defence lawyer Gordon Dewar Spence told the court that a "vast amount of evidence" had been agreed, but because his client was a deep-sea fisherman he had not been ashore enough to allow time for discussions.
Sheriff Craig Caldwell continued the case to a further pre-trial hearing on February 4, before the trial itself at a special sitting at Falkirk court, scheduled to last up to four weeks, beginning on March 2.
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