The UK MAIB has issued accident investigation report regarding the Passenger ferry Uriah Heep contact incident with Hythe Pier near Southampton, United Kingdom, on 13 May 2016.
The incident:
On 13 May 2016 the passenger ferry Uriah Heep, with 15 passengers and three crew on board, ran into Hythe Pier while it was attempting to berth. The ferry became wedged under the pier and its wheelhouse was demolished, but there were no serious injuries and there was no pollution.
Findings
• The confined nature of the ferry’s normal berth at Hythe afforded little space in which to safely abort an approach in the event of a mechanical malfunction.
• The collision resulted from a loss of control of the ferry’s water jet propulsion.
• The cause of the loss of propulsion control could not be identified but it was almost certainly due to a mechanical failure within the system’s hydraulic circuit.
• The potential for similar mechanical failures to occur in the future cannot be discounted.
• Injuries to passengers were avoided by them being seated and warned of the impending impact.
Following the accident, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) withdrew Uriah Heep’s passenger safety certificate and the ferry was sold by its operator, White Horse Ferries Ltd. In view of the action taken, no recommendations have been made.
That no passengers were injured during Uriah Heep’s collision with Hythe Pier, or at Town Quay a year earlier, supports the onboard requirement for passengers to remain seated while the ferry was underway. It also reflects positively on the crews’ quick thinking to warn the passengers prior to the impacts.
Further details may be found in the accident report herebelow:
Source & Image credit: UK MAIB
