A "Dickensian" regime on board a commercial fishing vessel has been laid bare in court, as its skipper was handed a 300-hour community service order for exploiting his crew. Tom Nicholson Jr, 38, admitted to neglecting the basic needs of five Ghanaian workers aboard the Sea Lady, which sailed through the English Channel in 2017.
Prosecutors revealed that the men were forced to fend for themselves, scavenging food from the vessel's catch and devising secret rosters to snatch fleeting periods of rest. One crew member described feeling like a prisoner, with rations running perilously low on multiple occasions. Gershon Norvivor, 43, who still works as a fisherman in Scotland, recalled the extreme hardship, saying: "We were treated like slaves."
Another crewman, Augustus Mensah, detailed gruelling shifts without respite, describing how his physical and mental health suffered under the conditions. He was hospitalised with a head injury in December 2017 after being taken ashore at Portsmouth.
Mensah's testimony, along with that of Joshua Amissah, revealed a shocking culture of exploitation on board. The skipper allegedly told one crewman that his father had instructed him to treat all black workers as slaves, sparking accusations of racism and further highlighting the depths of abuse.
Prosecutor Sineidin Corrins hailed the crewmen's courage in coming forward, describing their accounts as "harrowing" and "completely unacceptable". She noted that Nicholson was responsible for their well-being while on board, and his failure to provide adequate care had left them with significant trauma.
This case is the latest development in a long-running investigation into TN Trawlers. A 2024 BBC probe exposed 35 men who worked for the company as victims of modern slavery, sparking concerns about the fishing industry's handling of foreign workers and the ongoing battle against exploitation.