The Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) published its report on the fatal incident involving the Kilkee Irish Coast Guard rigid inflatable boat, on September 12, 2016. Three crewmembers were thrown into the water, one was picked up, another was rescued by the SAR rescue helicopter and the third one was recovered by a SAR rescue helicopter.
The incident
On the 12th September 2016, the Delta RIB left Kilkee Harbour, Co. Clare. There were three crew members on board, two from the Kilkee CGU and one from the Doolin CGU. This tasking was the continuation of a search operation for a person reported missing on 9th September which was being conducted in conjunction with a Coast Guard cliff top search team (Team Sierra).
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The Delta RIB proceeded towards Intrinsic Bay and then north of George’s Head to Chimney Bay. To complete its search the Delta RIB entered a small cove north-east of Foohagh Point, near Bishop’s Island.
It was not able to do so earlier because of tidal conditions. It had indicated to the CGU at Kilkee that it was ready to return to base. As the RIB was travelling slowly about 20m from the shoreline and preparing to leave the area the crew members became aware of a large breaking wave, directly on their starboard side. The CGU crew had no time to take any avoiding action.
The Delta RIB was struck by this breaking wave and capsized immediately. All three crew members were thrown overboard. One crewmember, using a handheld VHF transceiver, made a ‘MAYDAY’ call on Channel 16, which was received by the Kilkee CGU base who relayed the distress message to MRSC Valentia.
As MCIB said, this was a very serious marine casualty. When the Delta RIB capsized all three Coast Guard volunteer crewmembers were thrown into the water. One crewmember was rescued by a privately owned RIB. The CGU search and rescue helicopters R115 and R117 rescued the other two crewmembers, one of whom subsequently died. The vessel was broken up by the surf at the base of the cliff.
Probable cause
In the report, MCIB identifies three key factors that contributed to the incident:
- The Delta RIB was not licensed or certified in accordance with the statutory requirements for the activities in which it was engaged;
- The Delta RIB did not hold the required ship’s radio station licence;
- The Delta RIB Boat Cox did not hold the required statutory operator’s licence. This is a mandatory statutory qualification and is separate to any training provided by the IRCG.
Recommendations
The report noted that the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport should review the Irish National Search and Rescue Framework to make sure that:
- The criteria for determining the response to recovery operations, as opposed to search and rescue, is clearly defined and the appropriate responses to developments during an operation should be set out clearly;
- The criteria for tasking and launching Coast Guard boats is reviewed and clearly documented.
In addition, the IRCG should:
- Ensure that the Irish National Maritime Search and Rescue Framework is embedded in the operation of all activities within the IRCG;
- Implement a comprehensive Safety Management System to address the safety management issues identified in this report. This should comply with the appropriate international standards and should address all aspects of the management of the IRCG including volunteers, their management, appointment and training;
- Undertake regular audits and governance reviews of the Management System;
- All vessels operated by the IRCG should comply with the statutory requirements of the Merchant Shipping Acts including crew qualifications.
You may see more information in the PDF herebelow
