Lessons learned after Jersey-registered boat sinks off Greece

Monday 08 March 2021

Ports of Jersey is to write a ‘lessons learned’ bulletin for mariners after a locally-registered boat sunk after catching fire off Greece.

The privately owned, 23m motor cruiser MV Just Mine sank on Friday 13 November en route from Paralia Akolis, in the Gulf of Corinth, to the island of Zakynthos. The two-man crew were taking the boat to San Remo in Italy, where it was to berth over the winter.

Around two hours into the journey, the 51-year-old British deckhand smelt smoke during a routine inspection of the engine room. 

Quickly, a fire broke out on board but the crew had time to activate the boat’s fire suppression system, raise the alarm with the coastguard and get into the yacht’s tender. 

Pictured: The 23m MY Just Mine on fire off the coast of Greece.

Two patrol vessels, a firefighting tug and an anti-pollution boat were sent, and two local fishing boats and a small local pleasure craft in the area also responded and were tasked to help.

Pictured: The crew successfully contacted the coastguard with a handheld VHF and then a mobile phone but did not use the automatic ‘DSC’ function.

Despite the tug’s efforts to put out the fire, it spread quickly and Just Mine’s main deck collapsed into the hull and the boat sank in 320m of water without causing any pollution.

By this time, the deckhand and the 29-year-old Croatian skipper had been picked up from the tender uninjured.

Because the boat sunk in deep water, neither the exact origin of the fire nor its cause could be determined, however, an incident report - whose publication was recently approved by the Economic Development Minister Lyndon Farnham - did make a number of recommendations, which will be incorporated in the Ports’ safety bulletin.

Pictured: The boat was on its way to the Greek island of Zakynthos.

The report concluded that many of the actions of the crew had been appropriate, including their quick raising of the alarm and effective abandoning of the vessel.

However, the crew failed to collect life jackets before getting onboard the tender and the skipper sent their location to the coastguard verbally on VHF channel 16 rather than using the more preferable ‘digital selective calling’ function, which would have sent a position automatically.

It is recommended that information in the safety bulletin includes why it is important to have emergency equipment readily available, how to safely tackle fires on board, and why sending out an automatic distress alert is better than a voice call.

Pictured: The ship was quickly engulfed by flames and sank.