Skipper Admits Failure to Provide Adequate Food and Rest for Foreign Seamen
A skipper for a Scottish fishing company facing allegations of modern slavery has admitted to failing to provide sufficient food and rest for foreign seamen aboard the Sea Lady scallop dredger.
Workers from Ghana reported being made to work continuously without rest and described their treatment as "like slaves," while also struggling to obtain enough food during their time on the vessel.
Tom Nicholson Jr, aged 38, pleaded guilty at Hamilton Sheriff Court to an offence under maritime health and safety regulations following three days of testimony from migrant fishermen.
The offence occurred in 2017 when Nicholson was employed by his father's company, TN Trawlers.
In 2024, a BBC Scotland documentary brought to light allegations of modern slavery linked to the company.
'Excessive and Continuous Hours'
Nicholson admitted to instructing workers to undertake excessive and continuous hours of work and failing to provide adequate rest periods.
Five Ghanaian men working on the vessel were also not supplied with sufficient food, training, or safety instructions.
Over the course of three days, the jury heard evidence from two fishermen before Nicholson entered his guilty plea.
Augustus Mensah and Joshua Amissah gave their testimonies through an interpreter.
Augustus Mensah, who appeared in the BBC documentary Slavery at Sea, told the court he began working for the company in September 2017.
During his employment, he said he worked on three different boats in the English Channel, including the Sea Lady.
While under Nicholson's command, Mensah said he and his fellow Ghanaian crew members worked continuously without rest, devising a "secret rota" to allow them to sleep in short shifts.
"While the harvest was up, it took two hours to sort. Then there's another cast [of the dredges].
"By the time you had sorted the harvest, there is another one coming up.
"It was continuous until the day we returned back to shore."
'My Body Deteriorated'
Mensah stated that the skipper kept separate food supplies but provided other items such as potatoes, bananas, and biscuits for the crew.
"The food that would be provided lasted up to three days… On the fourth or fifth day there was nothing.
"No way are you to touch [the skipper's food]… He gave an order not to touch it."
The crew resorted to eating octopus and fish caught during the harvest.
When asked if he was instructed to take these, Mensah replied,
"It was for our own survival."
He added that the conditions affected his health and mental wellbeing, stating,
"It impacted my health, my mental health… My body deteriorated and I almost died on board."
In December 2017, Mensah sustained a head injury aboard the Sea Lady and was taken ashore at Portsmouth, where he subsequently reported his concerns to the police.
His colleague, Joshua Amissah, who worked for the company from April to December 2017, also testified about the lack of training aboard the Sea Lady.
Amissah told the court,
"As soon as we got there, he said we should just get to work… He [Tom Jr] said there was no time and that we needed to go hunt for scallops."
He described the work as "non-stop," adding,
"It kept coming. There was no rest during the trip."
Regarding sleeping arrangements, he said,
"There was no sleep. This went on until some time in November, and we said if this went on, we would die.
"So we devised a plan so that when he [Tom Jr] goes to sleep after the net has been cast, we would find a way to get some sleep."
'He Told Me I Was a Slave'
Fiscal depute Jacqueline Smyth questioned Amissah about whether he confronted Nicholson regarding the lack of rest.
Amissah stated,
"He told me that I was a slave.
"He said that his father had told him that any black person he worked with, he must treat that person as a slave."
Tom Nicholson Jr is the son of Thomas Nicholson, the owner of TN Trawlers.
In 2024, the BBC exposed how TN Trawlers had been the focus of a decade-long investigation into human trafficking allegations.
The BBC identified 35 men who had worked for TN Trawlers and were later recognized by the Home Office as victims of modern slavery.
The Disclosure and File on 4 production included testimonies from former workers from the Philippines, Ghana, and India who alleged mistreatment by the company.
In October 2024, another group of Ghanaian fishermen were awarded £20,000 each in compensation by the UK government.
This crew was rescued in 2020 from the scallop-trawler Olivia Jean, also owned by TN Trawlers.
TN Trawlers has denied any allegations of modern slavery or human trafficking, asserting that its workers are well-treated and well-paid.
Tom Nicholson Jr is scheduled to return to court for sentencing in July.
