A CORNISH fishing company has been fined £100,000 after a 20-year-old apprentice engineer died when a fire suppression system filled a trawler’s engine room with toxic gases in Newlyn Harbour.

Conor Moseley was working aboard the Resurgam on November 15, 2019, when the system unexpectedly activated, turning the cramped engine room into a deadly trap.

His employer, W. Stevenson & Sons Ltd, was sentenced at Truro Crown Court after admitting two health and safety offences – and was also ordered to pay £27,906 in costs.

Conor was carrying out work alongside three other workers when the incident happened.

Hot gases, exceeding 75C, flooded the enclosed space, filling it with dangerous substances and making visibility difficult. With just one way in and out, workers had to climb a ladder and pass through a hatch one at a time.

While the other three managed to escape, Conor was overcome by carbon monoxide and other substances. His colleagues desperately tried to reach him, putting themselves at risk, but could not get him out.

Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service later rescued him from the engine room, but he could not be revived.

Now, his mother Tracy Moseley has spoken of the devastating impact of losing her son, whose love of fishing was at the heart of family life.

“Growing up Conor loved nothing better than helping out on his dad’s boat,” she said. “Conor always made himself available to help his father when he came in from sea and would be ready to help him land his catch even after a full day’s work. Now for Steve, my husband, there is just an empty place that cannot be filled.

“All we have now are his ashes which are kept in his bedroom. Every morning I go in and say, ‘morning little man I love you’ and blow him a kiss. I never say ‘good morning’ as it can never be a good morning without him.”

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found serious failures in how work was coordinated aboard the Resurgam, owned and operated by W. Stevenson & Sons Ltd.

Several contractors were working in the cramped engine room, but the risks had not been properly assessed. One contractor described the space as a mess, with poor lighting and trip hazards, while six or seven people were at one point working in the confined area. Another witness described the situation as chaos.

Investigators found there was no safe system of work for installing the fire suppression system and no effective emergency plan. The company had failed to consider how workers could be rescued quickly and given prompt medical attention if something went wrong.

HSE principal inspector Helena Allum said: “While W. Stevenson & Sons Ltd was not responsible for the fire suppression system going off unexpectedly, it was responsible for considering what could go wrong during the installation and maintenance activities, and coordinating them so that as few people as possible were put at risk.

“Conor’s death was a tragedy. He need not have been in the engine room at the time. When the worst happened, they couldn’t get him out in time to save him.”