Captain Morgan insists it follows all safety procedures following criticism over man’s death

The Captain Morgan company of boat charters has insisted that the company’s fleet follows every necessary safety requirement. It vehemently denied any claims made by sources who pointed out at a pattern of a laissez-faire towards the health and safety of its clientele.

The Malta Independent approached Captain Morgan’s general manager, Kevin Zammit Briffa, following the death of the French man who drowned after going missing when he, along with five men, leapt off the boat as it made its way to shore after a boat party on the Fernandes on 12 August.

Five of the men made it to shore.

His lifeless body was found at around 6.30pm on 16 August in St Julian’s.

“Witnesses have already said that their plan was to jump off the vessel and get to Paceville before the boat arrived in Sliema,” explained Zammit Briffa.

“They didn’t fall over, people never fall over.”

The newsroom had also been informed of separate incidents involving persons falling off Captain Morgan boats.

The first involved an English man who fell off a vessel in St Paul’s Bay while at a boat party. Sources claimed that the man was forced to swim to shore after crew members failed to notice he was no longer on the boat.

The second case involves an incident when an individual fell off a boat, claimed to be part of the Captain Morgan fleet, and could not be located for 30 minutes.

Sources have said that the captain claimed then that this sort of incident happened all the time.

Mr Zammit Briffa denied the claims, insisting that these incidents must have involved another operator as all incidents are logged and reported by the company; while asserting that the company follows all possible procedures.

“Before every trip goes out, we need to request permission, authorities need to know where the ship is going ... even the decibels of the music are calculated.”

“We take a count regularly when the passengers embark and disembark from the vessel. However, we cannot be constantly aware of the count while we are on the boat.”

“You cannot have a babysitter with every single person. There is the crew on board and three security personnel to ensure crowd control.”

“We give the safety briefing before, we try to get the message across, but we cannot keep an eye on everyone.”

“Two weeks before the incident, a person jumped off a boat. This happens on normal trips, the boat will be coming into the harbour to berth, and people jump off, in spite of being told not to. That is extremely dangerous.”

“We carry thousands of people year round, we follow all the procedures and we have spent a lot on safety equipment. Transport Malta is audited by the EU so we are checked and vetted constantly.”

“When there is a 1.5-metre-high wave we refuse to go out, even if our competitors do so. We have been out before and have turned back.”

“We want people to enjoy themselves and come back safely.”