SLEBECH THREE M321
AROSA M321
John Stevenson Collection
Official No: 398384 Port Number and Year: 23rd in Milford, 1981
Description: Steel side trawler, single screw oil burning motor vessel. Shelter deck.
Crew: 15 Registered at Milford: 14 Aug 1981 Built: 1974, Astilleros Atlantico, Santander, Spain.
Tonnage: 206.6 grt 108.36 net
Length / breadth / depth (feet): 109 / 22.3 / 12.1
Engine: Internal combustion engine; oil; 4 single acting 6 cyl. 1320 bhp; 10 kts; by Maschinenbau Kiel (MaK), Germany
Owners:
As BETI IRUNI
1974?: Pesquera Laurak-Bat S.A., San Sebastian, Spain
8 May 1981: Renamed SLEBECH THREE M321
14 Aug 1981: Betty Fisheries, C Shed, Docks, Milford.
Managers: Peter George Wright, 64 Great North Road, Milford
John Edwin Crawford, 1 Leonardston View, Neyland
17 Jan 1986: Coingate, 41 Fish Market, Milford
Between 1988 and 1991: Messrs. Stephenson Harwood, 1 St. Paul's Churchyard, London (Agent)
As AROSA
1994: Arosa Ltd.
Landed at Milford:
Skippers:
Notes: 3 Oct 2000: Foundered off Galway. [See story below.]
Cert. Cancelled & Milford Registry Closed: 2000
Accidents and Incidents
From the West Wales Guardian of Friday 19th April 1985:
Various operations with Spanish connections have come and gone from Milford over recent years and the only one now remaining is the firmly established Crickpoint Ltd. The company operates four trawlers and two liners from Milford. Their catches are all boxed at sea and shipped straight to Spain on landing. Although there is some Spanish ownership in the company, a major share-holder is managing director John Crawford of Milford. He stressed that the company is a bona-fide U.K. operation.
"Crickpoint is not a flag of convenience operation - it is a genuine U.K. company, registered in London, with U.K. capital and management, British crews and British registered vessels which comply fully with all Department of transport standards," said Mr. Crawford. "We provide work for around 70 to 80 U.K. fishermen, plus shore staff."
The four trawlers are managed by Mr. Crawford, and the two liners by Mr. Ernie Leach. All the vessels are operated on a share basis.
The trawlers - Milford Star, Slebech, Slebech 2 and Slebech 3 - each work with a crew of 12. They are all over 100ft. with engines in the 550 hp - 1,000 hp range. The vessels work bobbin gear on the roughre grounds further off than those worked by the Milford co-op vessels. They work mainly for hake, ling and megrim on trips of around a fortnight.
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From icWales.Co.uk (Western Mail), 13th December 2001:
Trawler loss still a mystery
AN INVESTIGATION has been unable to determine the exact cause of the sinking of a West Wales-based trawler in which 12 men died.
The Arosa, a Spanish-owned and -operated vessel based in Milford Haven, sank in near gale-force conditions off Galway, on the west coast of Ireland, in October 2000.
The men who died were Spanish nationals who lived on their boats during months away from home.
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) today published the report of its investigation into the grounding and loss of the Arosa.
The report stated it was not possible to determine the direct cause of the accident as the two crew with knowledge of the navigation both lost their lives in the accident.
It was the worst maritime disaster for a Milford Haven boat in 40 years.
For full MAIB report see http://www.maib.gov.uk/cms_resources/arosa-english.pdf
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