Clipper crew "didn't account for low tides" ahead of accident

Friday 07 August 2015

An accident that took the Commodore Clipper out of action for a month happened because crew failed to take account of low tides, didn’t plan properly and disabled safety equipment, an investigation has found.

And investigators say that the accident in July 2014 – in which the 129-metre long vessel grounded on rocks on the approach into Guernsey’s harbour – wasn’t noticed by crew at the time despite “a noisy, shuddering vibration that reverberated throughout the ship”, and that the crew didn’t check for damage, make an external report or alert passengers.

The report found that the contact caused significant damage to the bottom of the ship and that it was “extremely fortunate” that flooding was contained within double-bottom void spaces.

More than a year on from the accident, the findings have been included in the report of the Marine Accident Investigation Branch.

Condor has “entirely accepted” all of the recommendations of the report and has already given additional training to crew, installed new systems and changed their procedures to make sure a similar accident won’t happen again.

Speaking on behalf of the company, Captain Fran Collins said: “This is a fair report whose findings are consistent with our own investigation.

“MAIB reports are crucial to ensuring that the whole maritime industry learns the lessons from incidents at sea and, in this respect, this report is extremely helpful.

“Because safety is always Condor Ferries’ highest priority, we have already implemented all the recommendations in the report, implementing changes in training, operational practices and policies, and safety management systems.”