Fishermen rescued from TN Trawlers boat settle claim against Home Office

The Ghanaian fishermen argued that the government breached their human rights not to be held in slavery or servitude and not to perform forced or compulsory labour.

The rights are laid down in Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights and contained in UK law in the Human Rights Act 1998.  

The claimants were rescued from abject conditions on the UK-based scallop trawler, the Olivia Jean, by charity Stella Maris in 2020.  

The trawler is part of a fleet called TN Trawlers, a company owned by Thomas Iain Nicholson or by TN Enterprises Ltd, which is in turn owned by Thomas Iain Nicholson and his sons. The company is named in a recent BBC expose of trafficking and modern slavery “Workers 'treated like slaves' on Scottish fishing boats”.  

Similar to the fishermen featured in the BBC documentary, the claimants had been given leave to enter the UK as contract seamen.  

However, once on the vessel, they were subject to modern slavery and forced labour. They worked excessively long hours without time off, were threatened, intimidated, verbally abused, including with racist language, and had to use faulty and dangerously inadequate equipment. 

Their living conditions were grossly unsanitary and cramped, and they were not able to access safe drinking water, adequate food or medical treatment. They did not have leave to enter and remain on UK shores and could not leave their vessel and enter the UK lawfully even when it was at port.  

The claimants argue that the Home Office breached their rights protected by Article 4 ECHR by failing to have in place systems to protect their rights and the rights of contract seamen like them from human trafficking, modern slavery and forced labour. The claimants argue that the Home Office also failed to identify them as being at real and immediate risks of trafficking and exploitation and failed to take steps to protect them, including by removing them from that situation or risk of that situation.

Leigh Day Manchester-based partner Stephanie Hill represented the group of fishermen in legal proceedings, settling each claimant’s case for over £20,000 in compensation.  

The claim highlighted how international seafarers’ charities and the media have documented numerous incidents of exploitation. Their reports show how migrant seamen on transit visas are in a distinct position of vulnerability because they have no lawful immigration status or statutory employment rights in the UK and how vessel owners rely on this position of vulnerability in their exploitation of the migrant seamen.

One of the rescued fishermen, now living in safe house accommodation in West Yorkshire, said on behalf of the group:

“Being trapped on that boat felt like a nightmare. We worked day and night. The conditions were unbearable – there was no dignity, no respect for us as human beings.  

“I’m grateful that we were finally rescued, but the scars of that time are still with me. This settlement is a step towards justice, but no amount of money can erase the suffering we went through. I hope that by speaking out, we can help stop this from happening to others.”

Human rights partner Stephanie Hill said:

“This claim raised serious concerns about the adequacy of the government’s systems to protect migrant workers from exploitation, which remains rife in the fishing industry. Our clients have shown a lot of courage in bringing this claim and this settlement is an important step forward in acknowledging the harm our clients endured. The conditions they were forced to work under were horrendous - working long hours with no rest, facing constant intimidation, and being deprived of basic necessities like safe drinking water.

“This case underscores the need for stronger legal safeguards to prevent abuses like these from happening again.”

Stephanie Hill, in Leigh Day’s Manchester office, represented the claimants in their Human Rights Act claims against the Home Office, together with Shu Shin Luh and Agata Patyna of Doughty Street Chambers.  

*This article was amended on 24 October 2024