MAIB recommendations after RIB fatality
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has published several recommendations for the protection of passengers after an investigation into the tragic death of 15-year-old Emily Lewis, who died in August 2020 when a high-speed Seadogz RIB crashed into a 4.5m-high channel maker in Southampton Water at a speed of 38.4 knots.
Two of the passengers were catapulted into the water, where their lifejackets inflated. All 11 passengers and the skipper were treated in hospital, most for substantial impact injuries. Emily was thrown against the handhold directly in front of the bench seat and died in hospital that afternoon.
Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents, Andrew Moll OBE, called on the maritime regulator, manufacturers and operators to take action, noting passengers in small high-speed craft are very vulnerable to impact and vibration injuries.
‘In the last 15 years, the MAIB has investigated numerous accidents involving high-speed passenger craft and made recommendations to improve the safety of this sector. As yet, little has been done to provide proper protection to passengers and crew from these hazards that routinely result in life-changing injury and, occasionally, death.
‘I am therefore hoping that the maritime regulator, manufacturers and operators of small high-speed passenger craft will take the lessons from this report as a stimulus to action.’
The MAIB has recommended that the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) assess the design and requirements for the protection of passengers in small high-speed craft and incorporate the results as future requirements. It also called on the MCA to expedite the introduction of the Sport & Pleasure Vessel Code.