RICHARD GIDNEY will face questioning over the Solway Harvester tragedy on June 23.
The 42-year-old boat owner will give evidence to an inquest into the sinking of the scallop dredger which claimed the lives of seven fishermen, at Kirkcudbright Sheriff Court.
A procedural hearing will take place a fortnight earlier.
The Solway Harvester sank in rough seas 12 miles off the Isle of Man coast in January 2000 after being lashed by waves during bad weather.
But Manx authorities have been left frustrated after Mr Gidney of Gatehouse of Fleet failed to turn up to a coroner’s inquest into what happened despite being asked to do so.
Coroner Michael Moyle heavily criticised him for not appearing at the Courts of Justice to give evidence, and said he risked being labelled a “hypocrite and a coward” by the victims’ families.
The case was opened and adjourned with Mr Moyle exploring the option of obtaining Mr Gidney’s evidence on commission from a Scottish courtroom.
This request was granted by the Court of Session in Edinburgh on February 15.
And this week hearing dates have been set for the latest developments in the case by Sheriff Principal Lockhart, the Sheriff Principal of South Strathclyde and Dumfries and Galloway.
A coroner’s inquest is the final process that can be taken under Manx law.
Craig Mills, aged 29, brother Robin, 33, and their cousin David, 18, perished in the tragedy along with Martin Milligan, 26, David Lyons, 17, John Murphy, 22, and Wesley Jolly, 17.
The deaths left the Isle of Whithorn community devastated.
Raising the stricken vessel from the seabed cost the Manx taxpayer £1million.
In May 2006, Mr Gidney was cleared of manslaughter charges after Deemster Andrew Moran instructed the jury to deliver not guilty verdicts following a five-week trial.
Mr Moran was critical of the prosecution’s case at the time, branding it “complex” and said it “may have put some to sleep”.
Officials from the Sheriff’s Office in Edinburgh boarded the rusting Solway Harvester, which currently sits in Douglas Harbour, at the start of last month.
