Grounding and evacuation of domestic passenger vessel Surprise

Location: Western Rocks, Isles of Scilly.

• From: Marine Accident Investigation Branch
• Published: 29 June 2017

• Vessel type: Merchant vessel under 100 gross tons
• Report type: Investigation report
• Date of occurrence: 15 May 2016

Accident Investigation Report 14/2017

Investigation report into marine accident including what happened and safety lessons learned:

Image: Mark Harcum

Summary

At 1135 on 15 May 2016, the passenger vessel Surprise suffered hull damage and started flooding when it grounded at Western Rocks, Isles of Scilly; all 48 passengers were safely evacuated to shore. The flooding was contained by the vessel바카라 사이트檚 own bilge pumps and it returned to harbour under its own power.

Safety lessons

• a passage plan had not been prepared for the trip. Passage planning is essential for every voyage to ensure all navigational hazards are identified and avoided

• safety management systems should include guidance on the conduct of navigation and reactions to take in an emergency. Neither Surprise바카라 사이트檚 onboard procedures or the St Mary바카라 사이트檚 Boatmen바카라 사이트檚 Association safety plans contained sufficient guidance

• the Council of the Isles of Scilly바카라 사이트檚 procedures for issuing local boatman바카라 사이트檚 licences lacked rigour; there was no syllabus for candidates to follow, or assurance of training standards

Recommendations

• the Council of the Isles of Scilly has been recommended (2017/127) to review its procedures for the examination of candidates for local boatman바카라 사이트檚 licences

• the St Mary바카라 사이트檚 Boatmen바카라 사이트檚 Association has been recommended (2017/128) to update its safety management system to incorporate guidance on passage planning

Published 29 June 2017