Captain fined after cruise ship damaged off Mull

THE Portuguese master of a cruise liner has been fined after his ship was damaged on a reef off the Isle of Mull in an incident that coastguards said could have ended in tragedy.

Captain Joao Manuel Fernandes Simoes, 58, admitted failing to properly plan its passage in breach of international regulations yesterday at Belfast Magistrates Court. He also accepted failing to report the incident, contrary to merchant s h i ppi ng requirements.

He was fined £400 for each charge and £13 costs. The incident happened on May 11 when the Bahamas registered cruise liner MV Hamburg called in to Tobermory en route from Dublin to Hamburg.

The bay could not be entered on arrival because two other cruise liners were already docked, so MV Hamburg remained two miles outside the port. The call to enter came at 1pm and a course was set. The track took the 15,000-tonne, 420-passenger vessel close to a starboard channel buoy. But the approach was from the north of the buoy over rocky shoals.

The port side grazed the side of the rocks and the propeller struck causing the ship to temporarily black out. The port engine could no longer be used and the ship limped in to Tobermory Bay.

After an internal inspection the ship was instructed by owners to proceed to Belfast. District Judge Ken Nixon said he appreciated other people were on the bridge at the time but the captain was in charge and had to take responsibility.

Fr a s er He a s le y , t he surveyor in charge of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency Glasgow, said: “This incident could very nearly have ended in tragedy.”