"Skipper admits failure to provide food and rest for foreign seamen", 5 June 2026

A skipper for a Scottish fishing company embroiled in modern slavery allegations has admitted failing to provide adequate food and rest for foreign seamen.

Workers from Ghana said they were worked round the clock and treated "like slaves" aboard the Sea Lady scallop dredger, while struggling to find enough food to eat.

Skipper Tom Nicholson Jr, 38, pled guilty at Hamilton Sheriff Court to an offence under maritime health and safety regulations, following three days of evidence from migrant fishermen.

The offence took place in 2017 while Nicholson worked for his father's business, TN Trawlers.

Nicholson admitted "instructing workers to perform excessive and continuous hours at work" and failing to "allow sufficient rest periods".

Over three days, the jury heard from two fishermen before the accused pled guilty.

Augustus Mensah...told the court he had arrived to work for the company in September 2017.

While aboard under the command of Nicholson, he said that he and his fellow Ghanaians worked round the clock and had "no rest", instead devising a "secret rota" that allowed them to sleep in short shifts.

The skipper, he said, kept separate food but provided other items such as potatoes, bananas, biscuits.

Mensah added: "The food that would be provided lasted up to three days… On the fourth or fifth day there was nothing.

Amissah described the work as "non-stop", adding: "It kept coming. There was no rest during the trip."

TN Trawlers denied any allegation of modern slavery or human trafficking and said its workers were well-treated and well-paid.

Tom Nicholson Jr will return to court for sentencing in July.