Accident verdicts on Solway crew

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The ship went down in stormy seas off the Manx coast in January 2000, with the loss of the men from the close-knit village of the Isle of Whithorn, in Dumfries and Galloway.

Recording his verdict Isle of Man coroner Michael Moyle said: "My formal finding in respect of each and every one of the deceased is that the cause of death was drowning."

Mr Moyle added that the precise reason for the vessel sinking could not be pinpointed with certainty because of conflicting views from experts.

The coroner was highly critical of the boat's owner, Richard Gidney, for acting "in his own self-interest" during the inquest proceedings.

After being acquitted of manslaughter in 2005, Mr Gidney refused to attend an inquest on the Isle of Man the following year, claiming he had received legal advice that it may "prejudice a civil claim".

Mr Gidney was eventually summoned to give evidence at Kirkcudbright Sheriff Court in June this year after a petition from Mr Moyle was granted which ordered his examination as a witness.

The inquest heard that the vessel had experienced three flooding incidents in eight years and that while Mr Gidney had installed a bilge alarm in the fish room of the Solway Harvester, it was not working when the boat began its final trip. As a result, the boat's skipper Craig Mills was not alerted that water was rising in the fish room during the stormy weather.

Mr Moyle drew attention to other equipment shortcomings on the boat, including the fact that the lifeboats on board had not been serviced "for a considerable time".

Skipper Craig Mills, 29, Robin Mills, 33, David Mills, 17, Martin Milligan, 26, John Murphy, 22, David Lyons, 18, and Wesley Jolly, 17, all lost their lives when the ship sank.