Amateur fisher claims trawler rammed their boat near fish farm but operator gives conflicting version

An amateur fisher out on his first recreational fishing trip has claimed to have been rammed by a trawler belonging to Azzopardi Fisheries.

In a Facebook post, Aleandro Spiteri Monsigneur, a member of renowned local band Red Electrick, said he had been fishing with his friend on a 16-foot boat roughly 10km off the coast, close to a series of fish farms owned by Azzopardi Fisheries.

The incident happened last month and police confirmed the case is being investigated after a report was filed.

However, Azzopardi Fisheries owner Charles Azzopardi denied the pleasure craft was rammed and insisted it capsized because it was caught in the wake of the fishing trawler.

Azzopardi told MaltaToday the small vessel was tied to his company’s fish cages, which is a restricted area by Transport Malta regulations.

According to Spiteri Monsigneur, their boat was approached by a trawler that was going to work close by, and so they relocated to another area, around 30 metres away from the fish farms.

He said around 25 other small fishing boats like theirs were also in the area.

“From our new spot, we could spot another, bigger trawler heading in our direction from roughly 500m away, but did not think much of this. As he approached, we noticed the trawler was clearly planning to pass by us, but assumed the trawler would, as normally happens, pass round the smaller boats, or signal to us by a horn or a hand wave if he needed us to move, to which, again, we would have showed no objection, obviously,” he continued.

But the trawler did not change direction and the amateur fishermen were rammed before they could take evasive action.

“The trawler headed straight onto us, colliding with us and causing the boat to capsize and all of our belongings (phones, wallets, keys, camera etc.) to drown,” reads the Facebook post.

The captain of the fishing trawler shouted at the men that it was their fault and told them not to go there again, before sailing off without attempting to assist the capsized vessel.

Nobody was injured in the incident and the two men were assisted by another trawler belonging to Azzopardi Fisheries that also returned them to land. The boat suffered considerable damage.

Azzopardi denies ramming incident

Contacted for comment, Azzopardi Fisheries owner Charles Azzopardi denied the ramming incident but claimed the young men had tied their small boat to a cage both fore and aft.

Azzopardi said the wake of the passing fishing vessel had capsized the men’s boat and he had done all he could to help them.

Azzopardi said he dispatched another nearby trawler to pick them up from the sea. “We helped them and sent divers to recover their wallets and other items. We have it all on video,” Azzopardi said, adding that he had given them copies of the footage and pictures.

The businessman explained that the company had a problem with theft of fish from their cages, which were a restricted area under Transport Malta regulations.

“There are a lot of cases of people stealing fish from us,” he added. “I look at him and see my son, he’s 21. I gave him the photo of the capsized boat. If I didn’t want to help him, I wouldn’t have done this but we have to work. There is a difference between fishing as work and as a hobby,” Azzopardi said.