Andrew John Tresise

In April 2002, Troy Creyk was the skipper of the crayfishing vessel Hunter. Onboard was his deckhand Andrew John Tresise, age 26.

They were working near Essex Rocks at Jurien Bay, and were trying to free a snagged lobster pot in around 2.7 metres of water. Troy was working the boat with just himself and Andrew onboard.

The day prior, Andrew had played a game of football without any difficulty at the local football club, with his housemate, Jason Slowiak. Jason worked on another boat, the Wild Thing.

There was no hint that Andrew was unwell, and he is described as a fit and able deckhand with years of experience and a good mate. His nickname was “Rizza”. He had also previously dived on snagged pots without issue.

Andrew was using scuba equipment to dive near the snagged pot, while Troy remained on the Hunter to manoeuvre it away from a nearby reef. The boat was not anchored during the dive.

According to Jason, Andrew had returned to the surface and was making his way up the ladder, when Troy noticed he became quite unsteady on his feet and fell back into the water. Andrew did not resurface and Troy made efforts to retrieve him.

A nearby vessel, the Sentosa 3, skippered by Steve Holland and owned by Kevin Brewer went across to assist Troy, and the diver was recovered.

Efforts were made to resuscitate the man by Troy and a crew member of the Sentosa 3, and later by ambulance officers, but he could not be revived.

WorkSafe WA investigated the incident and reiterated the importance of adherence to “Safe diving practices”, which had been established. Troy Creyk was fined $20,000 in the Perth Magistrates Court for “failing to ensure the safety of a diver working as a deckhand on his boat”.

Andrew’s funeral service took place in Fremantle and his remains were scattered out to sea off Cervantes. He was single and had no children.