MAIB issues safety recommendations following fatal yacht crash
The yacht crash off Felixstowe last year has prompted fresh advice from the organisation
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has issued fresh safety recommendations to the leisure industry to demonstrate how quickly vessels can approach after the fatal yacht crash off Felixstowe last year.
Lack of proper lookout on board both the yacht Orca and the dredger Shoreway was sighted as the main cause of the accident, with sailor Bernadine Ingram killed as a result of the incident on 8 June 2014.
Orca foundered minutes after the crash, with Mrs Ingram becoming trapped inside the yacht and unable to escape.
In the wake of the organisation’s report into the tragedy, the MAIB wants to highlight the importance of keeping a proper lookout by publishing pictures that demonstrate how quickly a distant vessel can approach.
The MAIB flyer warns: “Leisure boat users should never assume that they have been seen by other vessels, nor should they assume that the other vessels will always take avoiding action.
“Due to the good visibility, the officer on watch on Shoreway was not using his radar and had not seen the target of Orca that had been on his screen for 11 minutes before the collision.
“Leisure sailors need to be particularly aware of closing speeds between their own vessels and other vessels. In this case, Shoreway was travelling at 12.9kts but many types of vessels, including ferries, cruise ships and container ship regularly sail at speeds over 25 kts and, as a result, distances initially appear sufficient can be reduced surprisingly quickly.”