Duty of Care

On the night of Tuesday, October 13, 2026, the creel fishing boat Kilda, with three people aboard, failed to return to the Port of Ness on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland’s Western Isles, according to HM Coastguard and Police Scotland as reported by The Scotsman and STV News. The body of skipper Douglas Craigie, 49, was recovered early Wednesday.

Crewmates Norman “Tam” Murray, 40, and Murdo Morrison, 23, remain missing. The Scotsman reported the crew was working in the Kilda as a replacement while their regular boat was in for repairs, and the local member of Parliament described the sinking as happening in a Tuesday night storm. On Saturday, October 17, police said an area of interest had been identified, and STV News reported on October 18 that searches there were paused again because of sea conditions; the Marine Accident Investigation Branch has set a diver exclusion zone between the Butt of Lewis and the Port of Ness.

No verified U.S. maritime incident in the last 14 days was found for this track. Small fishing crews depend on defenses set up before they sail: a weather go or no-go decision, survival suits and lifejackets that fit and are within reach, a registered and armed EPIRB, and drills so everyone knows the abandon-ship plan, including on a replacement boat.

• The Scotsman
• STV News