Bailhache: Time to choose between lifeboat services

Wednesday 28 February 2018

A Minister has slammed the idea of having two separate lifeboat services as “absurd”, calling for the island to pick between the two.

Senator Sir Philip Bailhache, the Minister for External Relations and former Bailiff, said that support should either be withdrawn from the newly-formed Jersey Lifeboat Association (JLA) - or the RNLI’s assets should be handed over to the new organisation.

His comments came in response to proposals from Senator Sarah Ferguson, who is urging her fellow States Members to support the setting up of a Committee of Inquiry to review the months-long conflict between the RNLI and its former St. Helier crew.

It began when the coxswain, Andy Hibbs, was suspended over an alleged conduct issue in April. He was later reinstated following a report by the RNLI, but he and his crew decided to walk out on the charity and start their own independent lifeboat service. 

Pictured: Senator Bailhache said a "mist of uncertainty" surrounded the reasons why former RNLI coxswain Andy Hibbs was dismissed.

The circumstances leading up to that decision are due to be investigated by Guernsey’s Harbour Master, Chad Murray, but Senator Ferguson does not believe that it will be fully impartial due to Captain Murray’s ongoing working relationship with the Ports of Jersey.

Under her proposals, the Committee of Inquiry would look into “the actions taken by the RNLI and the Jersey government which led to the removal of the all-weather lifeboat.”

But Senator Bailhache has since moved to change the scope of that review. If given the go-ahead by the States, he believes the committee should instead examine “the breakdown of the relationship between the former crew of the St. Helier Lifeboat Station and the RNLI and leading to the formation of the JLA.” 

In a report explaining his suggested amendment, he described a “mist of uncertainty” surrounding the saga.

Pictured: Senator Sarah Ferguson expressed concern that Captain Murray's review would not be fully independent, and is calling for a Committee of Inquiry to examine the lifeboats row.

“It is not publicly known exactly what allegation(s) were made against the coxswain, nor by whom they were made. The involvement, if any, of personnel employed by Ports of Jersey Ltd. is unclear,” he explained.

“It is known that an investigation was undertaken by the R.N.L.I. and that a report was later received which led, directly or indirectly, to the reinstatement of the coxswain. The report which apparently exonerated the coxswain has been made available only in a heavily redacted form, making it impossible to understand exactly what went wrong. The R.N.L.I. asserts that it is prevented by data protection rules, or for some other reason, from releasing the full report. This is highly unsatisfactory, because a knowledge of the cause of the coxswain’s suspension, and of the conduct of all the relevant parties, is the only way in which an informed judgement can be reached as to the merits of each party’s stance." 

With this information, he said that islanders and politicians would be best placed to make an assessment on which service to support.

“We need to know exactly what happened, and what went wrong, so that a fair and sensible judgement can be made as to what is in the long-term interests of Jersey and her sea-farers,” he added.

Both Senator Ferguson's and Senator Bailhache’s ideas will be debated by the states on 20 March 2018.