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MAIB concludes that PRIDE OF
BILBAO caused loss of yacht
And says the wrong glasses are being used by lookouts at night
The MAIB has just published its report into the loss of the yacht Ouzo
last year.
The yacht Ouzo sailed from Bembridge, Isle of Wight (IOW), bound for
Dartmouth, Devon on the evening of 20 August 2006. She had her three
regular crew members on board who were intending to take part in the
Dartmouth Royal Regatta.
The body of one of the crew members was found in the sea just before
midday on 22 August about 10 miles south of the Nab Tower. At about
1900 on the following day, the bodies of the other two crew were
recovered from the sea. They had all been wearing inflated lifejackets
and good quality yachting clothing. Despite extensive surface and
sub-surface searches no trace of the yacht has been found.
The last record of the yacht was at 2230 on 20 August when she went
out of range of the Southampton/Portsmouth VTS radar system in Sandown
Bay. At this time it is believed that the yacht was sailing close
hauled in a south-south-westerly direction.
Voyage data recorder (VDR) records from ships that had been in the
area during the night of 20/21 August were recovered and analysed by
MAIB inspectors in order to use the radar information to trace the
movements of the yacht. In the course of this analysis, it became
apparent that the ro-ro passenger ferry Pride of Bilbao had had an
encounter with a small yacht about 6 miles south of St Catherine’s
Point, IOW, in the early hours of the morning of 21 August.
The lookout on the ferry had not seen the yacht until it was very
close ahead, and she had not shown up on the ferry’s radars. The
officer of the watch tried a last minute manoeuvre to avoid her and
believed that he had been successful. The sighting of a single red and
then, possibly, a white light astern of the ferry after the incident
was considered sufficient by the watchkeeping officer to assume that
the yacht was safe, and the ferry continued to Bilbao without taking
further action.
After careful analysis of the facts, the MAIB is of the firm opinion
that the yacht was Ouzo and that Pride of Bilbao had collided with
her, or passed so close that she had been swamped or capsized by the
vessel’s wash.
Safety Issues for merchant shipping
1. The lookout on the ferry had not seen the yacht until it was very
close ahead. There are several possible reasons for this, including:
i. The lookout was wearing glasses with photochromic lenses. Research
carried out for the investigation has concluded that his glasses
stopped at least 20% of light and, furthermore, all photochromic
lenses stop a significant proportion of light. Photochromic lenses
should not be worn by bridge lookouts at night.
ii. On the morning of the incident, there was significant light
pollution on the bridge of Pride of Bilbao due to poor blackout
procedures. For visual lookout to be effective, blackout curtains
should be used to keep stray light to a minimum.
iii. The lookout first saw the yacht when he had been on the bridge
for 9 minutes. His eyes were still adapting to the dark at that time,
and it is possible that he did not see the light earlier because of
this. Handovers of 15 minutes should be allowed for a lookout’s eyes
to become sufficiently adapted to the dark.
2. The yacht had not shown up on the ferry’s radars. Yachts of the
size and construction of Ouzo have very poor radar reflectivity even
with a radar reflector displayed. Radar reflectivity is reduced
further in moderate or rough sea conditions. At least one of the
ferry’s radars was adjusted using automatic clutter control. Radars
should be routinely switched to manual clutter control to check for
small targets.
3. The ferry did not stop to assist, or attempt to communicate with
the yacht after the incident. Although the officer had seen a light
astern, this did not mean that the yacht was safe: in fact it is
likely that her three crew were in the water and in dire need of help.
The effect of a large fast ship passing close to a small boat can be
extremely dangerous and, in these circumstances, every effort should
be made to ensure that the boat is safe before continuing the passage.
The ship's officer of the watch, Michael Hubble, is awaiting trial on
charges connected with the incident.
For the full report, please download the
MAIB report
into the loss of the OUZO
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